Elon Musk threatens "thermonuclear" lawsuit as advertisers flee from latest X controversy

Elon Musk, owner of the social media platform X, announced Friday that he would take legal action against media watchdog Media Matters and possibly other parties, as companies continue to pull advertising from his platform.

This latest development follows the decision of major US corporations, including Apple, Disney, Warner Bros, and Comcast, to join a growing number of advertisers in suspending their campaigns on X due to concerns over Musk's perceived support of an antisemitic conspiracy theory.

Musk reportedly agreed with a post on X that falsely asserted that Jewish people were fomenting hatred against white people, stating that the user promoting the "Great Replacement" conspiracy theory was speaking "the actual truth."

The "Great Replacement" theory posits that Jewish people and leftists are orchestrating a deliberate plan to replace white populations with non-white immigrants, ultimately leading to a "white genocide."

Media Matters reported that advertisements from major brands were appearing alongside pro-Nazi content on X. The brands cited included IBM, Apple, Comcast Xfinity, Oracle, and Bravo. Media Matters followed up with a subsequent report identifying a larger number of brands whose ads had been shown in proximity to white nationalist content.

Musk has a history of issuing legal threats against critics but has not followed through. In September, when the Anti-Defamation League condemned X for the proliferation of antisemitic and other hate speech, Musk threatened litigation but ultimately filed no lawsuit. He ascribed a 60% decline in advertising revenue to the ADL's actions.

Since Musk acquired Twitter in November 2022, X's advertising revenue has declined significantly. He recently introduced a subscription service, claiming it was intended to combat bots on the platform.

Neither Musk nor X responded to a request for comment.

The X app is available on the Apple App Store. Buy the iPhone 14 Pro on Amazon.