Media Matters Sues F.T.C. Over Advertising Investigation
Source: New York Times
Media Matters Sues F.T.C. Over Advertising Investigation
The liberal advocacy organization said in a lawsuit that the Federal Trade Commission's inquiry into boycotts with other advertising groups was "retribution."
Andrew Ferguson, chairman of the Federal Trade Commission, has said advertiser boycotts can choke off funding for important online venues for speech. Al Drago for The New York Times
By Kate Conger and Kenneth P. Vogel
June 23, 2025, 2:25 p.m. ET
Media Matters, a liberal advocacy organization, sued the Federal Trade Commission on Monday, claiming that the agency was waging a "campaign of retribution" against the group on behalf of the Trump administration and Elon Musk.
The F.T.C. started investigating Media Matters last month over whether the organization had illegally colluded with other advertising advocacy groups to pinch off revenue from X, Mr. Musk's social media company, and other right-leaning sites. Media Matters reported in 2023 that ads on X appeared alongside antisemitic content.
Media Matters said in its lawsuit that the Federal Trade Commission had employed "sweeping governmental powers to attempt to silence and harass an organization for daring to speak the truth." The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., claimed that the agency was trying to limit the organization's free speech rights, and asked a judge to immediately halt the investigation.
In its lawsuit, Media Matters blamed pressure from Mr. Musk, Republican state attorneys general and the Trump administration for "disruptions in fund-raising" and some staff cuts. Media Matters has also been cut out of coalitions with other advocacy groups that feared the association could lead to retribution, the lawsuit said. The group has effectively censored itself for fear of retaliation, according to the lawsuit, limiting its reporting on X, Mr. Musk and the F.T.C.
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Kate Conger is a technology reporter based in San Francisco. She can be reached at kate.conger@nytimes.com.
Kenneth P. Vogel is based in Washington and investigates the intersection of money, politics and influence.
Read more: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/technology/media-matters-ftc-lawsuit.html
Reposted by Aaron Reichlin-Melnick
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Media Matters for America
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Today, Media Matters is filing a lawsuit against Trump's FTC to protect our First Amendment rights.
Today, Media Matters
is filing a lawsuit against Trump's FTC to protect its First Amendment rights.
Media Matters for America filed suit today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block an investigation launched by the Federal Trade Commission. The investigation is the latest effort by Elon Musk and his allies in the Trump administration to retaliate against Media Matters for its reporting.
The FTC investigation mirrors similar probes by Republican state attorneys general that federal courts have already taken steps to block. A federal appeals court wrote in May that "Media Matters is the target of a government campaign of retaliation."
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kate conger
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Media Matters is suing the Federal Trade Commission, arguing the agency is infringing on its free speech rights with its investigation into the organization www.nytimes.com/2025/06/23/t...
Media Matters Sues F.T.C. Over Advertising Investigation
www.nytimes.com
June 23, 2025 at 2:40 PM
Today, Media Matters is filing a lawsuit against Trump’s FTC to protect our First Amendment rights.
— Media Matters for America (@mmfa.bsky.social) 2025-06-23T18:40:53.146Z