Elon Musk's handpicked judge, a proud Tesla shareholder, was humiliated when a federal appeals court yesterday overruled him, ruling that Xitter couldn't inspect donor information from the nonprofit watchdog group Media Matters.
As Reuters reports, "In a ruling on Sunday, the New Orleans-based 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said a Texas federal judge's order compelling the disclosure of donor information will be paused while Media Matters appeals it."
The appeals court expressed skepticism about Xitter's need for such extensive donor information, stating, "We doubt that X Corp. needs the identity of Media Matters's every donor, big or small, to advance its theories." The court also raised concerns that disclosing this information "could enable others to harass or intimidate Media Matters or its donors."
This legal dispute stems from Xitter's defamation lawsuit against Media Matters, filed in November. Musk alleges that Media Matters "knowingly and maliciously" fabricated images showing major advertisers' content next to neo-Nazi posts, leading some companies to pause their advertising on the platform. As Sanho Tree commented on Xitter: "Space Caligula thinks Media Matters is the reason advertisers are fleeing this racist, fascist hellscape."
Media Matters has defended its actions as "an accurate report on the platform's extremism" and argues that truthful reporting cannot be grounds for business disparagement.
While Tesla-loving U.S. District Judge Reed O'Connor ruled that Xitter could pursue its lawsuit, this latest decision by the appeals court shows that the judge representing Musk could face additional challenges in the future.
