(Daily Caller)—Republican Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey is launching an investigation into Media Matters for America, a left-wing organization that released a report about alleged antisemitism on Elon Musk’s X in November.
Media Matters published research in November alleging that X had been placing ads from major brands next to pro-Nazi content; however, X later sued Media Matters over the study, claiming it was manipulated and defamatory. Baily sent a letter to Media Matters on Monday asserting that the group may have run afoul of Missouri consumer protection laws if X’s allegations are true and instructing Media Matters to preserve documents related to group’s research on X.
?BREAKING: We have reason to believe Media Matters used fraud to solicit donations from Missourians in order to bully advertisers into pulling out of X, the last platform dedicated to free speech in America.
We have launched an investigation. pic.twitter.com/jBUJqdsFYL— Attorney General Andrew Bailey (@AGAndrewBailey) December 11, 2023
“I am especially concerned that Media Matters’ actions, if proven true, have hampered free speech by targeting an expressly pro free speech social media platform in an attempt to cause it financial harm while defrauding Missourians in the process,” Bailey wrote.
Bailey argued that, if Media Matters did indeed publish false and defamatory information about X, then their efforts to fundraise off their research may have violated Missouri laws against fraud.
Media Matters must maintain documents, including internal correspondences and correspondence with advertisers about withdrawing ads from X, according to the letter. It also must maintain “internal communications regarding [its] policies, strategies or operations related to generating stories or content intended to ‘cancel,’ ‘deplatform,’ ‘demonetize,’ or otherwise interfere with businesses or organizations located in Missouri, or utilized by Missouri residents” and “communications and documents related to soliciting charitable funds from residents of Missouri.”
Apple, Comcast, IBM, Lionsgate, Paramount Global, Sony and Warner Bros. Discovery all withdrew their advertising from X following Media Matters’ report.
“Media Matters accessed accounts that had been active for at least 30 days, bypassing X’s ad filter for new users,” X’s lawsuit says. “Media Matters then exclusively followed a small subset of users consisting entirely of accounts in one of two categories: those known to produce extreme, fringe content, and accounts owned by X’s big-name advertisers. The end result was a feed precision-designed by Media Matters for a single purpose: to produce side-by-side ad/content placements that it could screenshot in an effort to alienate advertisers.”
Media Matters has raised funds from organizations managed by Arabella Advisors, a consultancy that supports a dark money network aligned with left-leaning groups and causes. The Arabella-managed Hopewell Fund contributed $250,000 to Media Matters in 2022 and $150,000 in 2020, while the New Venture Fund has contributed $150,000 to Media Matters since 2018, according to tax documents.
Left-wing billionaire George Soros’ Open Society Foundations also granted the group $500,000 in 2021, according to its grant database.
Bailey’s press office and Media Matters did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
All content created by the Daily Caller News Foundation, an independent and nonpartisan newswire service, is available without charge to any legitimate news publisher that can provide a large audience. All republished articles must include our logo, our reporter’s byline and their DCNF affiliation. For any questions about our guidelines or partnering with us, please contact [email protected].
Independent Journalism Is Dying
Ever since President Trump’s miraculous victory, we’ve heard an incessant drumbeat about how legacy media is dying. This is true. The people have awakened to the reality that they’re being lied to by the self-proclaimed “Arbiters of Truth” for the sake of political expediency, corporate self-protection, and globalist ambitions.
But even as independent journalism rises to fill the void left by legacy media, there is still a huge challenge. Those at the top of independent media like Joe Rogan, Dan Bongino, and Tucker Carlson are thriving and rightly so. They have earned their audience and the financial rewards that come from it. They’ve taken risks and worked hard to get to where they are.
For “the rest of us,” legacy media and their proxies are making it exceptionally difficult to survive, let alone thrive. They still have a stranglehold over the “fact checkers” who have a dramatic impact on readership and viewership. YouTube, Facebook, and Google still stifle us. The freer speech platforms like Rumble and 𝕏 can only reward so many of their popular content creators. For independent journalists on the outside looking in, our only recourse is to rely on affiliates and sponsors.
But even as it seems nearly impossible to make a living, there are blessings that should not be disregarded. By highlighting strong sponsors who share our America First worldview, we have been able to make lifelong connections and even a bit of revenue to help us along. This is why we enjoy symbiotic relationships with companies like MyPillow, Jase Medical, and Promised Grounds. We help them with our recommendations and they reward us with money when our audience buys from them.
The same can be said about our preparedness sponsor, Prepper All-Naturals. Their long-term storage beef has a 25-year shelf life and is made with one ingredient: All-American Beef.
Even our faith-driven precious metals sponsor helps us tremendously while also helping Americans protect their life’s savings. We are blessed to work with them.
Independent media is the future. In many ways, that future is already here. While the phrase, “the more the merrier,” does not apply to this business because there are still some bad actors in the independent media field, there are many great ones that do not get nearly enough attention. We hope to change that one content creator at a time.
Thank you and God Bless,
JD Rucker
