Elon Musk's social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, issued a new warning Wednesday about the left-wing ratings company NewsGuard.
In a post on the site, X said it was the latest organization to be targeted by NewsGuard, which has systematically targeted conservative media.
"NewsGuard is about to publish a 'report' on misinformation on X. As a for-profit company, they will only share the data that underpins their purported research if you pay," X explained.
X then highlighted NewsGuard's strategy in going after the platform — the same strategy it has employed on dozens of other companies.
NewsGuard "uses these reports to pressure companies to buy their 'fact-checking' services. It's a profit over any principle model," X said.
"X has not seen any of the data in their report. Before publishing, we encourage all media outlets to request the data underpinning their claims."
After the X posting, Elon Musk himself weighed in on the matter, posting to his account, "In other words, 'NewsGuard' is a propaganda shop that will produce any lies you want if you pay them enough money."
"Our public report identifies the 10 accounts on X and their 30 posts spreading false claims or egregious misinformation on which we found 200 advertisements from 86 advertisers reaching a cumulative 92 million viewers," NewsGuard spokesman Matt Skibinski wrote in a statement to Newsmax on Thursday when reached for comment.
Steven Brill, a Democrat activist and donor, founded NewsGuard in 2018. The group's rankings have since been used by advertising agencies to block conservative media from obtaining advertising revenue.
Musk called for Brill's company to be "disbanded immediately" in October following a report that it worked with the European Union on a code prompting governments to take action on alternative news sites.
"Yeah, it's not cool," Musk said in response to Newsmax's story on his initial comments. "Pushing a political agenda in the name of 'guarding' the public."
NewsGuard has harshly ranked media organizations critical of the Biden administration, reported on problems relating to the COVID pandemic, and publish reports questioning the efficacy of vaccines.
Last week, the Washington Times reported that NewsGuard is backed by ad giant Publicis, which does significant business with Big Pharma companies including Pfizer.
Luca Cacciatore ✉
Luca Cacciatore, a Newsmax general assignment writer, is based in Arlington, Virginia, reporting on news and politics.
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