from the fucking-hypocrites dept

We’ve already talked a bit about Elon Musk’s obvious censorial bullshit lawsuit against Media Matters. It’s quite obvious from the lawsuit that his intent is to intimidate critics and suppress speech about hateful content on ExTwitter. So far, it’s not working, as that lawsuit seems to have inspired more people to find more ads next to more hateful content. It’s also exposed just how many of the ‘free speech’ supporters who cheer on Musk’s every move are a bunch of hypocrites, as they’re now supporting a lawsuit to silence speech.

Incredibly, it seems to be getting even more ridiculous.

Over the weekend, Musk famously reinstated conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, despite early on promising never to do so. On Sunday Jones and Musk did a Spaces together (with a bunch of other nonsense peddlers), in which Musk again (1) insisted that his support for free speech was why he reinstated Jones, and simultaneously (2) that he’d not just continue to sue Media Matters over its free speech, but that he’d sue them in “every country that they operate,” and (3) that he’d sue “anyone funding” Media Matters. His reasoning? That “Media Matters is an evil propaganda machine” that “can go to hell.”

Yes. At the same time he not only was re-platforming and joining an online panel with Alex Jones, one of the most infamous propaganda machines ever, he’s claiming that Media Matters needs to be sued out of existence for being a propaganda machine.

The claim that he’d sue MMFA in “every country” seemed odd, given that the “A” in MMFA is “America.” Media Matters for America is pretty focused on the US. However, soon after that came out, I found a (very light on the details) report that ExTwitter has already sued Media Matters in Ireland as well.

Unfortunately, as of right now, I can only find that single news report about it, and no links to any details to look over, but:

X, FORMERLY TWITTER, has taken legal action in the Irish courts against a US media monitoring site.

Court papers filed this week show that Twitter International Limited Company, the name of its Ireland-based entity for operations, has taken legal action against Media Matters for America.

That’s basically it as details go. A search on the Irish court website does note that a filing has been made, but there’s no complaint. Just a “plenary summons.”

But, um, what the actual fuck?

What kind of “free speech absolutist” decides to go on a libel tourism trip to Ireland, filing a clearly bogus vexatious censorial lawsuit over an issue between two US-based organizations that had fuck all to do with Ireland?

It’s unclear what kind of impact this would have. While jurisdiction for defamation claims works differently in the EU (assuming he even is filing a defamation claim, which he didn’t actually do in the US), assuming MMFA has no operations or assets in the EU, it’s not clear if such a lawsuit can actually do anything. Worst case, ExTwitter wins… and then is blocked from enforcing it in the US thanks to the SPEECH Act (another law that actually protects free speech, which Elon is seeking to undermine).

As for the claim that he’s going to sue funders of MMFA, well that’s equally censorial. It’s an attempt to intimidate donors and silence their speech as well. While there are some exceptions, if the donors are somehow actively involved in a particular tort, the idea of suing donors to a non-profit because you don’t like the (admitted as true) speech of that non-profit is… so extraordinarily ridiculous and censorial that it seems very open to getting sanctioned.

For what it’s worth, it also seems to be backfiring. On social media, I’ve seen a bunch of people who had never donated to MMFA before tossing $10 or $20 their way and then posting the receipts in Elon’s mentions, asking if he’s going to sue them.

Elon Musk is not a free speech absolutist. He’s not even a free speech supporter.

He’s a vexatious, anti-speech litigant, eagerly abusing and exploiting the courts in an attempt to silence and suppress voices that criticized him and his companies.

Filed Under: alex jones, donors, elon musk, ireland, libel tourism, slapp
Companies: media matters, twitter, x