Media Matters shoulders $15 million in legal fees as it struggles to fend off lawsuits from FCC, Musk: Report
The organization has amassed $15 million worth of legal fees over the last several months, The New York Times reported on July 25, to defend itself against the lawsuits.
Media Matters has reportedly scaled back its criticisms of Musk and the FTC, the Times reported, and is dealing with sinking staff morale amid increased infighting.
The NYT also said MMFA was experiencing security concerns.
"Unlike some major media entities that have recently caved to pressure, we understand that this battle is larger than us," President of Media Matters Angelo Carusone told the NYT. "That's why we continue to carry out our mission and fight in court."
Carusone has made several recent appearances on MSNBC, including one on host Nicolle Wallace's show on Wednesday to discuss Trump and Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk and X filed a lawsuit against Media Matters, alleging that the media watchdog had defamed the social media platform. The lawsuit followed a report published by MMFA which claimed that ads from major brands – including IBM and Comcast – could be seen next to pro-Nazi posts on X.
Musk's initial lawsuit also led to probes by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton of Texas and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey, the NYT reported. MMFA sued, and the federal court ultimately blocked the investigation in Texas.
The NYT reported that some MMFA members wanted the left-wing advocacy group to declare bankruptcy or back down in order to settle the lawsuits.
The FTC launched an inquiry into Media Matters in May about whether it had illegally colluded with advertisers in order to harm Musk's social media platform.
Media Matters sued to end the investigation, saying the FTC was leveraging "sweeping governmental powers to attempt to silence and harass an organization for daring to speak the truth," the NYT reported.
Stephen F. Mandel Jr., a hedge fund manager who is a major donor to Media Matters, according to the NYT, suggested in a meeting with those helping raise funds for the left-wing watchdog group that they should think about shutting down.
However, Carusone had hinted to the NYT that they weren't considering the option, and said the lawsuits were "a revenge campaign against Media Matters intended to stymie or stop us entirely from exercising our constitutional rights."
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