X Corp. goes after a nonprofit that tracks hate speech. Plus, we remember Paul Reubens, one of the most inventive comics ever Email not displaying correctly?
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** OPINION
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Elon Musk finds a new low with his latest lawsuit threat
Elon Musk stands outside a courthouse in San Francisco in January. (AP Photo/ Benjamin Fanjoy, File)

This headline from The New York Times is almost hard to believe: “Twitter Threatens Legal Action Against Nonprofit That Tracks Hate Speech.” ([link removed])

Read that again. Then really think about it. Threatening a nonprofit — a nonprofit that tracks hate speech. Who does that?

Oh yeah, Elon Musk.

The Times’ Sheera Frenkel and Ryan Mac wrote, “X Corp., the parent company of the social media company, sent a letter on July 20 to the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a nonprofit that conducts research on social media, accusing the organization of making ‘a series of troubling and baseless claims that appear calculated to harm Twitter generally, and its digital advertising business specifically,’ and threatening to sue.”

The letter was written by an outside attorney, Alex Spiro, who wrote that the CCDH has made “inflammatory, outrageous, and false or misleading assertions about Twitter and its operations” in its reports.

The CCDH published Spiro’s letter ([link removed]) . In it, as one example, Spiro cited a report in which CCDH staff members flagged tweets from 100 Twitter Blue subscribers that they considered harmful and that Twitter did not take action on most of them. Spiro wrote that the CCDH report said Twitter had failed to act on “99% of Twitter Blue accounts tweeting hate.”

“This article leaves no doubt that CCDH intends to harm Twitter’s business by driving advertisers away from the platform with incendiary claims,” Spiro wrote.

Musk recently claimed Twitter has had a nearly 50% drop in advertising revenue.

In a release, CCDH CEO Imran Ahmed said that Musk’s actions attempt to “silence honest criticism and independent research.”

“Advertisers are fleeing his platform for one clear reason: Elon Musk has supported the proliferation of hate and racism on it, and he doesn’t care to stop it,” Ahmed wrote.

In a response to Spiro’s letter, attorneys for the CCDH wrote, “These allegations not only have no basis in fact (your letter states none), but they represent a disturbing effort to intimidate those who have the courage to advocate against incitement, hate speech and harmful content online, to conduct research and analysis regarding the drivers of such disinformation, and to publicly release the findings of that research, even when the findings may be critical of certain platforms.”

The Associated Press’ David Klepper astutely wrote ([link removed]) , “Musk is a self-professed free speech absolutist who has welcomed back white supremacists and election deniers to the platform, which he renamed X earlier this month. But the billionaire has at times proven sensitive about critical speech directed at him or his companies.”

Ahmed told Klepper, “This is an unprecedented escalation by a social media company against independent researchers. Musk has just declared open war. If Musk succeeds in silencing us other researchers will be next in line.”

CNN’s Brian Fung notes ([link removed]) that “Since taking over Twitter, Musk has slashed roughly 80% of the company’s staff, including many working on the platform’s content moderation teams.”

And, of course, many are throwing Musk’s words back in his face. Last year, he tweeted, “I hope that even my worst critics remain on Twitter, because that is what free speech means.”

Musk’s go-to move is to threaten to sue. As Fung wrote, “Threatening lawsuits has become a favored tactic for Musk as Twitter faces continued pressure. Earlier this month, Twitter threatened to sue Facebook-parent Meta over the launch of its competing app, Threads, accusing the company of copying Twitter’s product through trade secret theft. In May, Spiro sent a letter to Microsoft accusing it of overusing its ability to download tweets from the platform as Musk stepped up his criticism of the Redmond, Wash.-based tech giant as a perceived rival in artificial intelligence technology.”

This threat, however, is particularly disturbing. California Democratic Congressman Adam Schiff said in a statement, “Instead of attacking them, he should be attacking the increasingly disturbing content on Twitter.”

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** Speaking of Twitter, or X, or whatever …
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The headline on Joshua Benton’s latest piece for Nieman Lab: “Elon Musk can change what he calls Twitter — but can he change what everyone else calls it?” ([link removed])

Benton writes, “So, Twitter. Or X. Or whatever dumb meme-derived name Elon Musk comes up with tomorrow. One guy decided to throw away more than a decade of meaning and brand equity. Does everyone else have to follow suit?”

Actually, Benton does a bit of a dive into what news organizations are actually calling Twitter and/or X.

He writes, “This is not a scientific sample, but it’s clear that Musk still has work to do in the public sphere if he thinks ‘X’ is going to be what people actually call the place one tweets (er, posts).”


** X-out the X
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Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the downtown San Francisco building that houses what was formerly known as Twitter last week. The sign was removed Monday. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Workers install lighting on an "X" sign atop the downtown San Francisco building that houses what was formerly known as Twitter last week. The sign was removed Monday. (AP Photo/Noah Berger)

Oh, one more X item. The big giant X sign atop the San Francisco headquarters of the company was taken down Monday. Apparently, the company didn’t have a permit to install the sign and will be fined.

The sign was only up for three days, but drew it complaints from residents in the area because the bright light coming off it was a distraction. (One nearby resident tweeted ([link removed]) how bright the sign was at night.) It’s possible Twitter, or X, will now seek a permit to put the sign back up.


** Trump’s lawsuit against CNN dismissed
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Catching up on this news from late last week. President Donald Trump’s $475 million defamation lawsuit against CNN has been dismissed. Trump claimed the network defamed him by using the term “Big Lie” to describe his false claims that the 2020 presidential election was rigged. Trump’s suit claimed that was tantamount to comparing him to Adolf Hitler.

But U.S. District Judge Raag Singhal, who was appointed by Trump in 2019, said the use of the “Big Lie” phrase is an opinion that doesn’t meet the standard for defamation. Singhal wrote, “CNN’s use of the phrase ‘the Big Lie’ in connection with Trump’s election challenges does not give rise to a plausible inference that Trump advocates the persecution and genocide of Jews or any other group of people. No reasonable viewer could (or should) plausibly make that reference. … Being ‘Hitler-like’ is not a verifiable statement of fact that would support a defamation claim.”

The judge dismissed the case with prejudice, meaning Trump cannot file another lawsuit under the same reasoning.

MSNBC’s Steve Benen wrote ([link removed]) , “As for why this is so notable, there are a few angles to keep in mind. The first is that Trump seems to think he can wage a legal war against news organizations, and those efforts keep failing spectacularly. The second is that the former president apparently expects people to believe that he and his legal team are racking up wins, even as reality tells the opposite story.”

Benen also mentioned the judge dismissing the case with prejudice and Benen added, “Trump has already faced sanctions for having filed frivolous litigation. I’ll be curious to see if his case against CNN leads to similar punishments.”


** Death of a comic genius
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Actor and comic Paul Reubens is shown here dressed as his character Pee-wee Herman in 2009. (AP Photo/Danny Moloshok, File)

One of the most inventive comics ever has died. Paul Reubens — who created the boy-like character Pee-wee Herman — died Sunday. He was 70.

Reubens had been battling cancer for years.

In a statement released upon his death, Reubens said, “​​Please accept my apology for not going public with what I’ve been facing the last six years. I have always felt a huge amount of love and respect from my friends, fans and supporters. I have loved you all so much and enjoyed making art for you.”

Dressed in a gray suit with a red bowtie tie and white shoes, Reuben’s Pee-wee Herman starred in TV, film and theater and was a hit among young and old alike.

Like many of you, I first saw Pee-wee Herman in the early 1980s when HBO aired his one-hour theater show ([link removed]) , which also featured future “Saturday Night Live” cast member Phil Hartman. That show was the basis for a groundbreaking Saturday morning TV show called “Pee-wee’s Playhouse,” which aired for five years on CBS. His theater show, as well as the Saturday morning show, still hold up and are brilliantly funny.

Along the way, the Pee-wee character starred in multiple movies, including the Tim Burton-directed “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in 1985. Reubens also appeared in movies without his Pee-wee getup.

Reubens’ career had a major setback in the early 1990s when he was arrested for exposing himself inside an X-rated theater in Florida. While he never regained his pre-arrest popularity or success after that, Reubens eventually returned to public life, as well as film and TV — appearing as both himself and the Pee-wee character.

While commemorating the 35th anniversary of “Pee-wee’s Big Adventure” in 2020, Reubens appeared on various late-night shows and talked with Conon O’Brien ([link removed]) and Jimmy Kimmel ([link removed]) about his career and legacy.

O’Brien tweeted ([link removed]) , “No tweet can capture the magic, generosity, artistry, and devout silliness of Paul Reubens. Everyone I know received countless nonsensical memes from Paul on their birthday, and I mean EVERYONE. His surreal comedy and unrelenting kindness were a gift to us all. Damn, this hurts.”

The AP’s Andrew Dalton wrote ([link removed]) , “Both silly and subversive and championing nonconformity, the Pee-wee universe was a trippy place, populated by things like a talking armchair and a friendly pterodactyl. The host, who is fond of secret words and loves fruit salad so much he once married it, is prone to lines like, ‘I know you are, but what am I?’ and ‘Why don’t you take a picture; it’ll last longer?’ The act was a hit because it worked on multiple levels, even though Reubens insists that wasn’t the plan.”

In 2019, Reubens told the AP, “It’s for kids.”

But grown-ups loved it, too.

Check out this story from The Daily Beast’s Allegra Frank: “Remembering Paul Reubens: ‘Pee-wee’s Playhouse’ Was the Best Kids’ TV Show Ever.” ([link removed])


** On the call
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Perhaps the most stunning name among ESPN’s recent sizable on-air layoffs was top NBA analyst Jeff Van Gundy. He is the best NBA analyst right now, and among the best ever.

So who is going to replace Van Gundy on the top broadcast team? Nothing official yet, but New York Post sports media columnist Andrew Marchand reports ([link removed]) what he’s hearing will be ESPN’s succession plan. Van Gundy had been working alongside fellow analyst Mark Jackson and play-by-play announcer Mike Breen.

According to Marchand, ESPN will hire longtime NBA coach Doc Rivers and pair him with Doris Burke, who already has been calling NBA games for ESPN. Those two will join Breen.

After originally reporting that Jackson could move to the No. 2 team, Marchand reported ([link removed]'?utm_source=Poynter+Institute&utm_campaign=56baeaf3d8-08012023+-+The+Poynter+Report&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_26742a15dc-56baeaf3d8-390894500) Monday afternoon that Jackson is out at ESPN. Marchand wrote, “… network executives really like JJ Redick and Richard Jefferson as game analysts and are keen on assigning them better games. That left Jackson in potentially the third team, even though ESPN doesn’t make specific declarations.”

I still think cutting ties with Van Gundy was an awful mistake, and the Breen-Van Gundy-Jackson trio worked well together. I’m a fan of both Burke and Rivers, who has limited broadcasting experience but shows great insight in interviews.

But Van Gundy will be missed, at least until he shows up on some other network’s set.


** Media tidbits
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* Associated Press media reporter David Bauder with “Variety revises article on former CNN chief Jeff Zucker that was sharply criticized.” ([link removed])
* USA Today’s Edward Segarra with “CNN business correspondent, 'Early Start' anchor Christine Romans exits network after 24 years.” ([link removed])
* Nieman Lab’s Brian Conway with “Pittsburgh laments The Incline’s descent.” ([link removed])


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