'Sad Day for Free Speech': Media Matters Layoffs Follow 'Thermonuclear' Attack by Elon Musk

[Emrys]

16. Musk loves a spot of SLAPP

He's had mixed results in the past.

Here's a case where he was the one who tried crying "SLAPP":

Elon Musk loses another round with Tesla critic
Elon Musk said a critic's defamation lawsuit was an attempt to censor and intimidate him. An appellate panel disagreed.

https://www.courthousenews.com/elon-musk-loses-another-round-with-tesla-critic/

And to prove that he's consistent in his hypocrisy, he's just failed to successfully invoke SLAPP in another case:

Elon Musk Suffers Legal Blow Over Neo-Nazi Claim

https://www.newsweek.com/elon-musk-lawyers-face-defeat-trying-dismiss-defamation-suit-1906229

The boot was on the other foot for this recent one, which has similarities to the Media Matters case:

Judge dismisses ‘vapid’ Elon Musk lawsuit against group that cataloged racist content on X
Center for Countering Digital Hate has chronicled rise of racist, antisemitic and extremist content on X since Musk’s acquisition

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/mar/25/elon-musk-hate-speech-lawsuit

That was in California. Musk's suing Media Matters in a Texas federal court to avoid the anti-SLAPP laws - and, if a number of legal experts are to be believed, because his case is weak, a suspicion bolstered by the fact he's engaged small law firms with no particular expertise in the areas of law under contention:

Legal critics blast Elon Musk’s lawsuit against Media Matters as ‘weak’ and ‘bogus’

https://edition.cnn.com/2023/11/21/tech/elon-musk-texas-lawsuit-media-matters/index.html

Benjamin Edwards, a law professor, writing in The Hill last year wasn't impressed either:

Musk’s Media Matters misstep

https://thehill.com/opinion/judiciary/4324303-musks-media-matters-misstep/

Nor was Ars Technica a month or so ago:

X filing “thermonuclear lawsuit” in Texas should be “fatal,” Media Matters says
Musk’s attempt to venue-shop Media Matters lawsuit is not likely to end well.

https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2024/04/elon-musks-x-scrambles-to-keep-court-case-against-media-matters-in-texas/

Of course, for the SLAPP tactic to be successful, he doesn't have to win. Just bankrupt people,