Elon Musk’s X Corp. is suing a nonprofit that fights hate speech and disinformation. The social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, is accusing the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) of asserting false claims and encouraging advertisers to stop investing in the company.
In July, CCDH published research that stated hate speech had increased toward minority communities on the platform. One report said Twitter took no action against 99% of Twitter Blue accounts the center reported for tweeting hate.
X and CEO Linda Yaccarino called the report “false.” They’re accusing the CCDH of falsely describing X as “overwhelmed with harmful content.” X says the research was based on outdated metrics that were gathered shortly after Twitter’s acquisition.
In the lawsuit, filed July 31 in San Francisco federal court, X Corp. claims the CCDH gained access to its data without authorization, illegally scraped data from its platform and used scare tactics to drive away advertisers.
Advertisers began fleeing the platform last year after Musk bought it for $44 billion. Musk has admitted that advertising revenue is down more than 50% since October.
In a letter sent July 31, Musk threatened to sue the nonprofit for unspecified damages. In response to Musk’s letter, lawyers for the CCDH accused X of intimidation and said the allegations waged against the center had no factual basis.
