JEFFERSON CITY — Missouri’s Republican attorney general has waded into an ongoing dispute between billionaire Elon Musk and a liberal advocacy group that erupted amid controversy over Musk’s endorsement of an antisemitic conspiracy theory last week.
Bailey said Sunday his team was “looking into this matter†the day after Musk promised “thermonuclear†legal action against Media Matters for America and others, alleging a “fraudulent attack†on his social media company X, formerly known as Twitter.
Musk sparked criticism Wednesday after he told an X user that the user was speaking the “truth†when the user said Jews hated white people and expressed general indifference toward antisemitism.
The next day, that ads for major brands had been placed alongside pro-Nazi content on X.
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Major companies such as Apple, IBM, Disney, Comcast and others they had either pulled advertising or were pulling ads from X, The Washington Post reported.
Musk early Saturday that X will file a “thermonuclear lawsuit†against Media Matters and “ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company.â€
Media Matters president Angelo Carusone responded in a statement: “Far from the free speech advocate he claims to be, Musk is a bully who threatens meritless lawsuits in an attempt to silence reporting that he even confirmed is accurate.
“Musk admitted the ads at issue ran alongside the pro-Nazi content we identified. If he does sue us, we will win,†Carusone said.
Musk denied that he was antisemitic in Sunday post.
“Nothing could be further from the truth,†he said. “I wish only the best for humanity and a prosperous and exciting future for all.â€
Also Sunday, X user Jack Posobiec had accused Media Matters of “creat(ing) accounts and gam(ing) the X server to create false impressions for their article.â€
In response to Posobiec’s post, Stephen Miller, who worked in former President Donald Trump’s White House, said fraud was a civil and criminal violation and noted there were “2 dozen+ conservative state Attorneys General†in the United States.
“Interesting,†Musk replied. “Both civil and criminal ...â€
Said Posobiec, in response to Musk, “If only there were AGs in states where there are X users willing to stand up against Media Matters fraud...â€
Bailey later posted: “My team is looking into this matter,†winning an attaboy from Musk.
“Great!†Musk said.
Bailey’s announcement came as his opponent in the Aug. 6 Republican primary, Will Scharf, was set to be in the spotlight Monday as he argued against a limited gag order imposed against Trump in one of the criminal cases against the former president.
Bailey’s post as of Monday afternoon had been seen more than 1.7 million times. Meanwhile, a Friday post by Scharf on Trump’s legal defense had been viewed 47,000 times as of Monday.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.