(HorizonPost.com) – An attorney for X Corp., the parent company of social media platform Twitter (AKA X), sent a letter to the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) on July 20 accusing the nonprofit group of making “baseless claims” about Twitter as a way to cause the social media platform harm, particularly in its digital advertising, the New York Times reported.
A copy of the letter was posted to the CCDH website on Monday. The group accused Twitter’s owner, billionaire Elon Musk, of brazenly attempting to “silence honest criticism” and “independent research” by threatening to sue.
CCDH accused Musk of trying to “stem the tide of negative stories” so the social media company can rebuild its “relationship with advertisers.”
In the letter to CCDH, Musk’s attorney Alex Spiro described the group’s research as “false, misleading, or both,” arguing that the group uses flawed methodologies.
As an example, Spiro cites in his letter the group’s June research report that claimed Twitter failed to take action on 99 percent of the 100 tweets flagged as “hate” speech, including tweets with anti-Semitic, homophobic, and racist content.
Spiro warned that Twitter is investigating whether the “false and misleading claims” made by the Center for Countering Digital Hate are actionable under federal law. He asserted that the social media company would use “any and all legal tools” to prevent “false or misleading claims” from harming Twitter users, the platform, or its business.
CCDH’s attorney Roberta Kaplan responded to Spiro’s letter by defending the group’s research and calling his allegations “ridiculous,” according to NBC News.
Kaplan said in a letter to Spiro on Monday that while Twitter is “free to pursue litigation,” the company “should be mindful of the risks” in “bringing frivolous claims” as a way to “intimidate thoughtful critics and stifle legitimate commentary” on matters of public interest.
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