The Federal Trade Commission is turning up the heat on Media Matters, digging into whether the media watchdog banded together with other advocacy groups to nudge advertisers away from Elon Musk’s social media platform, X.
According to a confidential document, the FTC has issued a civil investigative demand for records of Media Matters’ communications with other organizations that monitor misinformation and hate speech online. Among those named is the Global Alliance for Responsible Media—an offshoot of the World Federation of Advertisers, now a co-defendant in a courtroom standoff with Musk’s platform.
The investigation appears to align with comments made last year by FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson, who signaled an appetite for probing potential collusion between advocacy groups and advertisers. Ferguson, a Trump appointee, warned that such coordination could harm competition among online platforms and wouldn’t escape scrutiny.
X, previously known as Twitter, has launched legal salvos against both Media Matters and the Global Alliance, accusing them of scheming to drive advertisers away in a coordinated campaign. Media Matters denies the allegations, claiming the lawsuits are Musk’s attempt to “weaponize the courts” in retaliation for critical reporting.
“This is part of a clear pattern,” said Media Matters President Angelo Carusone, characterizing the probe as politically motivated. He accused Trump-era officials of using government power to target critics and stifle dissent.
The FTC hasn’t made any public comment on the investigation, and the World Federation of Advertisers hasn’t responded to inquiries.
The U.S. House Judiciary Committee previously leveled similar accusations against the Global Alliance, alleging an illegal group boycott before the initiative was shuttered in August.
It’s worth noting: a civil investigative demand is not an accusation—just a tool to gather facts. And not every probe ends in enforcement.
Meanwhile, despite the legal drama, X is on track for an ad revenue rebound in 2025, although it’s still lagging behind its pre-Musk figures. Musk, who has poured millions into supporting Donald Trump’s 2024 bid, has cast his takeover of the platform as a battle against censorship and “woke capitalism.”
As the lawsuits grind on in Texas and California, one thing is clear: the fight over X’s ad revenue is becoming a high-stakes proxy war over media influence, political power, and who gets to decide what’s acceptable online.
