The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has demanded documents from watchdog group Media Matters, as it seeks to investigate possible collusion with other groups to boycott advertising on Elon Musk’s X social-media platform.
The demand asks for information about Media Matters’ communications with other watchdog groups like the Global Alliance for Responsible Media.
X is currently suing Media Matters and the World Federation of Advertisers for conspiring to reduce ad spending on the platform since Elon Musk’s takeover in 2022.
The demand from the FTC requires Media Matters to provide all documents it has produced or received in its lawsuit with X.
The possibility of a probe into Media Matters was first brought up in December by Andrew Ferguson, who was appointed by President Donald Trump to run the FTC.
“We must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition among those platforms,” Ferguson.
Back in May of last year, Media Matters announced a series of wide-ranging cuts and layoffs as its financial woes, largely as a result of Elon Musk’s lawsuit, deepened.
“We’re confronting a legal assault on multiple fronts and given how rapidly the media landscape is shifting, we need to be extremely intentional about how we allocate resources in order to stay effective,” Media Matters president Angelo Carusone said in a statement.
“Nobody does what Media Matters does. So, we’re taking this action now to ensure that we are sustainable, sturdy and successful for whatever lies ahead.”
At the time of filing, Musk described his lawsuit against Media Matters as “thermonuclear.”
Musk has accused Media Matters of creating a fake account to curate posts and advertising in a bid to misinform advertisers about the placement of their posts, making it seem as if adverts were being placed directly next to “hateful” content.