Federal Trade Commission Opens Investigation Into Media Matters and Other Leftwing Media "Watchdogs" for Colluding to Suppress Free Speech

And I hope they trace the money to George Soros.

And I hope there's an avenue towards a class action lawsuit against Soros.

The Federal Trade Commission has launched a sweeping investigation into more than a dozen left-wing watchdog and ad industry groups accused of coordinating advertiser boycotts against right-leaning websites and platforms, including Elon Musk's X.

Key Details:

FTC's probe targets possible antitrust violations through advertiser collusion to defund conservative media.

Groups like Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media received investigative demands for communications and financial records.

FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson warns that advertiser boycotts are "a serious risk to the free exchange of ideas."

Diving Deeper:

The Federal Trade Commission has opened an expansive investigation into roughly a dozen advertising and advocacy groups that may have violated federal antitrust laws by organizing boycotts aimed at defunding conservative and right-leaning media platforms, according to four people familiar with the matter.

The probe marks a sharp escalation in the federal government's scrutiny of politically motivated censorship in online advertising, and directly challenges the long-standing practice of left-wing watchdogs targeting platforms they deem objectionable. At the center of the investigation is the question of whether progressive organizations conspired to pressure advertisers into pulling ads from platforms like X--formerly Twitter--under the guise of avoiding "hateful content."

The FTC has already sent investigative letters to groups like Media Matters and Ad Fontes Media, demanding internal records, communications with other watchdog organizations, and documents related to their campaigns targeting certain content. Vanessa Otero, CEO of Ad Fontes, confirmed receiving one of the letters on May 20 and said it related to a "possible collusion" inquiry.

Media Matters, a left-wing advocacy organization with close ties to the Democratic Party, is a key focus of the investigation. The group has publicly campaigned to cut off advertising to Elon Musk's X platform, publishing reports that claim X has allowed antisemitic and "hateful" content. However, critics argue that these efforts are thinly veiled political censorship campaigns aimed at silencing opposing viewpoints.

FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, recently appointed and outspoken about online censorship targeting conservatives, has framed these advertiser boycotts as more than just market preferences.

"Drying up the advertising will dry up the idea, so the risk of an advertiser boycott is a pretty serious risk to the free exchange of ideas," Ferguson said at a recent conference.

Ferguson's stance sharply diverges from the previous FTC approach, which often turned a blind eye to coordinated efforts to de-platform right-leaning content creators under the umbrella of "brand safety."

Advertisers, for their part, have defended their decisions, claiming they are simply aligning spending with corporate values. But the FTC under Ferguson is questioning whether those values have been manipulated by activist groups acting in concert to silence specific viewpoints--something the agency now suggests may constitute illegal market behavior.

It's Tuesday -- do you know where your duck is now?

posted by Ace at 12:17 PM

| Access Comments