#  'Straight Out of the Authoritarian Playbook': Watchdog Sued by Musk's X Hits Back

     Details    Brett Wilkins   ![logo](https://www.citywatchla.com//templates/ja_teline_v/images/logo.png)         August 03 2023      [  ![](https://www.citywatchla.com/images/stories/Aug-2023/062h.jpg#joomlaImage://local-images/stories/Aug-2023/062h.jpg?width=1104&height=682)    ](https://www.citywatchla.com/important-reads/27395-straight-out-of-the-authoritarian-playbook-watchdog-sued-by-musks-x-hits-back)

  [IMPORTANT READS](https://www.citywatchla.com/important-reads)   - [  Previous Article **Will Trump Go to Jail Before His Trial Even Begins?** ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27410:will-trump-go-to-jail-before-his-trial-even-begins&catid=9)
- [  Next Article **GOP's 'Fiscal Vandalism and Political Sabotage' Prompts Second-Ever US Credit Downgrade** ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27392:gops-fiscal-vandalism-and-political-sabotage-prompts-second-ever-us-credit-downgrade&catid=9)

  ###### Typography

- [](# "Smaller Font")  ****Smaller** **Small** **Medium** **Big** **Bigger****  [](# "Bigger Font")
- [](# "Previous Font Style")  ****Default** **Helvetica** **Segoe** **Georgia** **Times****  [](# "Next Font Style")

- [ Reading Mode](# "Reading Mode")

> <a class="a2a_button_facebook"></a><a class="a2a_button_twitter"></a><a class="a2a_button_email"></a><a class="a2a_button_print"></a>[](https://www.addtoany.com/share)
>
>  [Comments](#disqus_thread)

 FIRST AMENDMENT? - The internet watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate hit back at billionaire Elon Musk Tuesday after X—his company formerly known as Twitter—sued the organization over its research into the dissemination of hate speech on the social media platform.

In a [complaint](https://s3.documentcloud.org/documents/23892311/x-v-center-for-countering-digital-hate-inc-complaint.pdf) filed Monday in the U.S. District Court for Northern California in San Francisco, X accused the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH)—a nonprofit with offices in the U.S. and United Kingdom—of "using flawed methodologies to advance incorrect, misleading narratives" and engaging in a series of unlawful acts designed to improperly gain access to protected X Corp. data" after the group published research critical of the social platform's failure to tackle hate speech.

One CCDH [analysis](https://counterhate.com/research/twitter-fails-to-act-on-twitter-blue-accounts-tweeting-hate/) found that X failed to remove 99% of hate speech posted by Twitter Blue users, who pay an $8 monthly subscription fee.

"Elon Musk's latest legal move is straight out of the authoritarian playbook—he is now showing he will stop at nothing to silence anyone who criticizes him for his own decisions and actions," CCDH founder and CEO Imran Ahmed [said](https://counterhate.com/blog/our-response-to-elon-musk-and-x-corps-lawsuit-against-ccdh/) in response to X's lawsuit.

"The Center for Countering Digital Hate's research shows that hate and disinformation is spreading like wildfire on the platform under Musk's ownership and this lawsuit is a direct attempt to silence those efforts," Ahmed continued. "People don't want to see or be associated with hate, antisemitism, and the dangerous content that we all see proliferating on X."

"Musk is trying to 'shoot the messenger' who highlights the toxic content on his platform rather than deal with the toxic environment he's created," he added. "CCDH has no intention of stopping our independent research—Musk will not bully us into silence."

Since [purchasing](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/04/25/real-threat-democracy-musk-buys-twitter-44-billion) Twitter for $44 billion last year, Musk has laid off around 80% of the company's workforce, including many content moderators. Last December, the company [dissolved](https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/twitter-muslim-hate-musj) its Trust and Safety Council, an independent advisory board of around 100 human and civil rights experts.

Meanwhile, Musk—who describes himself as a "free speech absolutist" even as he allegedly [purges](https://www.commondreams.org/news/2022/11/30/evidence-grows-left-wing-twitter-purge-directed-musk) left-wing users—has welcomed or reinstated the accounts of white supremacists, anti-LGBTQ+ bigots, election conspiracy theorists, antisemites, and others.

"This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war," Ahmed [told](https://apnews.com/article/elon-musk-lawsuit-cchd-twitter-x-hate-speech-extremism-434a80631f9e76833ee30387c04dd290)*The Associated Press* on Sunday. "If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line."

*(Brett Wilkins is a staff writer for Common Dreams where this article was featured.)*

  - [  Previous Article **Will Trump Go to Jail Before His Trial Even Begins?** ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27410:will-trump-go-to-jail-before-his-trial-even-begins&catid=9)
- [  Next Article **GOP's 'Fiscal Vandalism and Political Sabotage' Prompts Second-Ever US Credit Downgrade** ](https://www.citywatchla.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=27392:gops-fiscal-vandalism-and-political-sabotage-prompts-second-ever-us-credit-downgrade&catid=9)
<div data-id="1" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-emailform eb-1 eboxContentLocker"
	data-options='{"trigger":"onPageLoad","trigger_selector":"","delay":3000,"early_trigger":true,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":1,"reverse_scroll_close":true,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":10000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"slideInDown","animation_close":"fadeOutDown","animation_duration":400,"disable_page_scroll":true,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #1 - Global Email Signup Form","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog eb-formVer" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog1" aria-label="dialog1">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<form action="https://citywatchla.us2.list-manage.com/subscribe/post?u=34d69f33624fd058ee9b56516&amp;id=4bfa422f51&amp;f_id=00d6c2e1f0" class="eb" method="post" id="mcform-1" name="mcform-1" target="_blank">
			<div class="eb-form-header"><p><img src="/images/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png" alt="be a city watcher" width="350" height="97" loading="lazy" data-path="local-images:/2023/06/be-a-city-watcher.png"></p>
<p>Sign up to receive our special e-news blasts on Monday and Thursday evenings!</p></div>
	
					<div class="eb-field-row">

			
			
			
			<input class="eb-input" type="email" name="EMAIL"  placeholder="Email address"  id="EMAIL" value="" required>

			
		</div>
										
	<div class="eb-footer">
    	<button class="eb-btn" type="submit" name="subscribe" style="background-color:rgba(93, 183, 93, 1);color:rgba(255, 255, 255, 1)">
    		Sign up    	</button>
    </div>
</form>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>
<div data-id="3" 
	class="eb-inst eb-hide eb-yesno eb-3 "
	data-options='{"trigger":"onScrollDepth","trigger_selector":"","delay":0,"early_trigger":false,"scroll_depth":"percentage","scroll_depth_value":80,"firing_frequency":2,"reverse_scroll_close":false,"threshold":0,"close_out_viewport":false,"exit_timer":1000,"idle_time":1000,"close_on_esc":false,"animation_open":"fadeInUp","animation_close":"fadeOut","animation_duration":300,"disable_page_scroll":false,"test_mode":false,"debug":false,"ga_tracking":true,"ga_tracking_id":"G-P16BQ7X1SW","ga_tracking_event_category":"EngageBox","ga_tracking_event_label":"Box #3 - Yes \/ No Donation Popup Box","auto_focus":false}'
	data-type='popup'
	>

	<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-outside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>
	<div class="eb-dialog " role="dialog" aria-modal="true" id="dialog3" aria-label="dialog3">
		
		<button type="button" data-ebox-cmd="close" class="eb-close placement-inside" aria-label="Close">
	<img alt="close popup button" />
	<span aria-hidden="true">&times;</span>
</button>	
		<div class="eb-container">
						<div class="eb-content">
				
<div class="ebox-yes-no">
	<div class="ebox-yn-text">
		
		
		<div class="ebox-yn-headline" style="font-size:22px;color:#888888">
			<p>If you only give once a month, would you consider giving to CityWatch?</p>
<p>Your support fuels our mission to promote and facilitate civic engagement and neighborhood empowerment, and to hold area government and its politicians accountable.</p>
<p>Would you like to help? Even if you can only give $5, it will make a difference.</p>		</div>
			</div>
	
	<div class="ebox-ys-buttons" style="font-size: 16px;">
		
<a
					data-ebox-prevent="0"
		data-ebox-cmd="close"
				target="_self"
		href="https://www.citywatchla.com/donate"
		rel="noopener"
	
	
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#2ec664;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Yes
	</a>
<a
	
	
			data-ebox-cmd="close"
		href="#"
	
	
	class="ebox-ys-btn"
	style="background-color:#ef2345;color:#ffffff;min-width:100px">
	Not Right Now
	</a>	</div>

	</div>			</div>
		</div>
	</div>	
</div>