FTC launches probe of far-left group Media Matters over allegations of advertiser collusion against Musk's X

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) has reportedly launched an investigation into the far-left advocacy group Media Matters For America over its activism targeting tech billionaire Elon Musk's X. 

The New York Times reported Wednesday that the FTC had sent a letter to Media Matters inquiring about whether it had illegally colluded with advertisers in order to harm Musk's social media platform.

Media Matters For America did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment. A spokesperson for the FTC declined to comment. 

JUDGE ALLOWS LAWSUIT BY ELON MUSK'S X AGAINST LEFT-WING MEDIA MATTERS TO PROCEED

In 2023, major advertisers including IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate and Paramount fled X after Media Matters published a report alleging their ads were appearing alongside antisemitic content. 

However, Musk filed a lawsuit against the liberal group, alleging it "completely misrepresented the real user experience" in order to mislead advertisers and manipulated the algorithms that curate users' feeds to get "racist, incendiary content" to appear next to large advertisers' paid posts. Attorneys representing X said the report was "intentionally deceptive" and caused financial harm.

TEXAS ATTORNEY GENERAL OPENS INVESTIGATION INTO MEDIA MATTERS FOR ‘POTENTIALLY FRAUDULENT ACTIVITY'

Last August, a judge in Texas allowed Musk's lawsuit against Media Matters to proceed. 

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into Media Matters for "potential fraudulent activity." Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey also launched a probe looking into "potentially unlawful business practices."

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Fox News' Bradford Betz contributed to this report.