A liberal advocacy group blasted President Trump’s administration’s “threats” amid a reported probe into the group by the Federal Commerce Fee (FTC).
The FTC opened the probe into Media Issues on Wednesday over whether or not it improperly coordinated with advertisers, a number of shops reported Thursday.
In a letter, which was seen by a number of information shops, the FTC demanded communications between the progressive watchdog group and advertisers, its correspondence with different watchdog teams and copies of its budgets.
Media Issues was sued by tech billionaire and Trump advisor Elon Musk in 2023, with the Tesla CEO accusing the watchdog of coordinating with advertisers within the marketing campaign to drag promoting {dollars} off of X, the social media platform that Musk purchased in 2022.
The lawsuit, which continues to be ongoing, was filed in U.S. District Court docket in Texas. Media Issues has denied wrongdoing.
The swimsuit got here after Media Issues revealed a report that outlined how X was putting promoting subsequent to hateful content material. Numerous blue-chip corporations stopped promoting on X after the report was revealed.
“The Trump administration has been defined by naming right-wing media figures to key posts and abusing the power of the federal government to bully political opponents and silence critics,” Media Issues President Angelo Carusone stated in a press release to The Hill. “It’s clear that’s precisely what’s occurring right here, given Media Issues’ historical past of holding those self same figures to account. These threats received’t work; we stay steadfast to our mission.”
An FTC spokesperson declined to remark.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson signaled being open to probes of this nature.
“We should prosecute any illegal collusion between on-line platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competitors amongst these platforms,” Ferguson stated in December shortly earlier than being tapped by Trump to go the company.
