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{
"title": "Photojournalist struck by projectile while covering World Series revelry in LA",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/photojournalist-struck-by-projectile-while-covering-world-series-revelry-in-la/",
"first_published_at": "2025-11-04T22:06:11.842104Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-11-04T22:06:11.842104Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-04T22:06:11.638287Z",
"date": "2025-11-01",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Los Angeles",
"longitude": -118.24368,
"latitude": 34.05223,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"tkt6d\">Freelance photojournalist Myraneli Fabian was shot with a crowd-control projectile fired by police while she documented celebrations in Los Angeles, California, after the Dodgers won the World Series on Nov. 1, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"60nno\">Seven people were arrested after thousands of fans thronged city streets and police issued dispersal orders and fired riot-control munitions, <a href=\"https://www.cbsnews.com/losangeles/news/dodgers-world-series-celebration-arrests/\">according to CBS News.</a></p><p data-block-key=\"46d15\">Fabian told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that she did not see the Los Angeles Police Department officer who fired the shot and did not believe she was targeted. At the time, she was photographing people vandalizing a city bus, and officers were coming from behind her to stop them.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8281\">The projectile struck her upper thigh, leaving a dark bruise. Fabian said she was wearing a press badge and protective gear clearly marked “press.”</p><p data-block-key=\"31usj\">“I had my back toward them,” she said. “It just happened so quickly. I did see the bullet jump off from me on the floor.”</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"onmqr\">Police line up on a road in Los Angeles, California, on Nov. 1, 2025, after the LA Dodgers win the World Series. Photojournalist Myraneli Fabian was struck by a police projectile while covering fan celebrations.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
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"actor": null,
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"assailant": "law enforcement",
"was_journalist_targeted": "unknown",
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "California",
"abbreviation": "CA"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"shot / shot at"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Assault"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Myraneli Fabian (Freelance)"
],
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"type_of_denial": []
},
{
"title": "White House restricts reporter access to press secretary, staff’s offices",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-restricts-reporter-access-to-press-secretary-staffs-offices/",
"first_published_at": "2025-11-05T15:05:16.625101Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-11-05T15:05:16.625101Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-11-05T14:58:32.347808Z",
"date": "2025-10-31",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"cyzi8\">Journalists will no longer be able to access the offices of senior press officials at the White House in Washington, D.C., in a sharp break with tradition announced by Trump administration officials on Oct. 31, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"d1mbq\">The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/31/us/politics/trump-white-house-press.html\">reported</a> that for decades, White House correspondents have been permitted to roam through an area of the West Wing known as “Upper Press,” which houses the offices of the press secretary and other senior press aides. This access enabled reporters to ask impromptu questions outside of press briefings and keep up with breaking news events.</p><p data-block-key=\"7nb1v\">A White House memorandum released Oct. 31 announced the end of this practice, prohibiting journalists from accessing Upper Press without a prior appointment, citing security concerns with staffers now handling National Security Council materials.</p><p data-block-key=\"av6rp\">“This policy will ensure adherence to best practices pertaining to access to sensitive material,” the memo stated. Reporters will still have access to a separate office area adjacent to the briefing room, known as “Lower Press,” where lower-level communications staff are located.</p><p data-block-key=\"d12bl\">Communications Director Steven Cheung justified the restrictions in a <a href=\"https://x.com/StevenCheung47/status/1984400264661504307\">social media post</a>, claiming that reporters have surreptitiously recorded video and audio of the West Wing offices, entered restricted areas and eavesdropped on private meetings.</p><p data-block-key=\"akpmb\">The White House Correspondents’ Association <a href=\"https://x.com/whca/status/1984406570906607695\">condemned</a> the heightened constraints.</p><p data-block-key=\"5if9\">“The new restrictions hinder the press corps’ ability to question officials, ensure transparency, and hold the government accountable, to the detriment of the American public,” Weijia Jiang, the association’s president, wrote.</p><p data-block-key=\"8rvfs\">The move is the latest in the administration’s ongoing effort to curtail newsgathering activities at the White House and to punish news outlets for coverage that it deems unfavorable.</p><p data-block-key=\"cbk5o\">The <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/ap-reporters-barred-from-white-house-events-over-editorial-style-policy/\">Associated Press</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/wsj-reporter-pulled-from-press-pool-in-retaliation-for-epstein-article/\">The Wall Street Journal</a> have faced direct exclusion in retaliation for their reporting, and wire services were <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-wrests-control-of-presidential-press-pool-from-correspondents/#update-944\">collectively left out</a> of the press pool for President Donald Trump’s trip to the Middle East in May, a first since the White House press corps started traveling with American presidents abroad, <a href=\"https://x.com/whca/status/1922037075152457802?s=46&t=lMm46RtKimj2YtTSpzSANQ\">according to the correspondents’ association</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"cd72t\">The White House also <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-wrests-control-of-presidential-press-pool-from-correspondents/\">wrested control of the presidential press pool</a> from the organization, and used that authority to censor two pool reports and remove the permanent wire service seat from the pool.</p><p data-block-key=\"7a7hs\">In recent weeks, Trump has <a href=\"https://x.com/Acyn/status/1978171676732100647\">floated</a> further restrictions on media access to the White House, suggesting that the press could be moved “very easily across the street.” He had also <a href=\"https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/2017-01-18/trump-wont-remove-press-from-white-house-but-says-he-will-pick-who-gets-in\">briefly entertained that possibility</a> ahead of his inauguration in 2017, and under his first administration all but <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/trump-stops-regular-press-briefings-citing-unfair-media-treatment/\">halted press briefings</a> and suspended <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-correspondents-press-pass-reporter-alleges-retaliation/\">multiple</a> <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/white-house-suspends-cnn-reporter-jim-acostas-press-credentials-and-falsely-accuses-him-manhandling-intern/\">correspondents’</a> press credentials.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/2025-10-23T175949Z_2069542184_RC2.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"jkii2\">White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt takes questions during a news briefing in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 23, 2025. A week later, the White House issued new rules barring journalists from accessing Leavitt’s office or those of senior press aides.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
"detention_date": null,
"unnecessary_use_of_force": false,
"case_number": null,
"case_type": null,
"status_of_seized_equipment": null,
"is_search_warrant_obtained": false,
"actor": null,
"border_point": null,
"target_us_citizenship_status": null,
"denial_of_entry": false,
"stopped_previously": false,
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"did_authorities_ask_about_work": null,
"assailant": null,
"was_journalist_targeted": null,
"charged_under_espionage_act": false,
"subpoena_type": null,
"name_of_business": null,
"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
"equipment_broken": [],
"state": {
"name": "District of Columbia",
"abbreviation": "DC"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [
"Media"
],
"tags": [
"Donald Trump"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Federal government: White House"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": [
"Change in policy or practice"
]
},
{
"title": "Reporter denied access at DHS news conference in Minnesota",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/reporter-denied-access-at-dhs-news-conference-in-minnesota/",
"first_published_at": "2025-10-31T20:58:15.913054Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-31T20:58:15.913054Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-31T20:58:15.709284Z",
"date": "2025-10-24",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Fort Snelling",
"longitude": null,
"latitude": null,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"nx89y\">Clint Combs, a reporter for the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, said he was removed from the approved media list and denied access to a Department of Homeland Security news conference in the Minneapolis, Minnesota, area on Oct. 24, 2025.</p><p data-block-key=\"9lup9\">Combs told the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker that he had RSVP’d for the event at the Bishop Henry Whipple Federal Building in Fort Snelling, bordering Minneapolis, and received an email confirming his registration, including the address and arrival instructions for the press.</p><p data-block-key=\"7e89d\">When he checked in, a security guard asked for the name of his publication. On the guard’s clipboard, Combs saw a spreadsheet listing several news outlets — some highlighted in yellow and others crossed out in pen.</p><p data-block-key=\"ebuac\">The guard looked at the list and said, “You’re off the list.”</p><p data-block-key=\"d0324\">Combs said he was not given a reason for his removal but was denied entry to the event.</p><p data-block-key=\"7o32u\">The news conference, which was met with <a href=\"https://www.mprnews.org/story/2025/10/24/kristi-noem-visits-minneapolis-for-ice-briefing-protests-planned\">protests</a>, featured Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem and focused on U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.</p><p data-block-key=\"ojt5\">Combs told the Tracker he was “shocked and a little bit upset” by the exclusion and concerned about how selective access limits accountability. He said he has previously written stories on DHS activities and interviewed people who have been critical of its operations, but he can’t say if that is the reason for the denial.</p><p data-block-key=\"2vlde\">“Preventing people from asking public questions has a chilling effect,” Combs said. “I just wish there were clear explanations from the top down why certain outlets were denied. If it’s a logistical issue or a timing issue, let me know that.”</p><p data-block-key=\"fs2p5\">DHS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.</p></div>",
"introduction": "",
"teaser": "",
"teaser_image": "https://media.pressfreedomtracker.us/media/images/AP25297810056554.2e16d0ba.fill-1330x880.jpg",
"primary_video": null,
"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"nozkj\">Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem speaks during a news conference in the Minneapolis area on Oct. 24, 2025. Reporter Clint Combs was denied access to cover the event.</p>",
"arresting_authority": null,
"arrest_status": null,
"release_date": null,
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"actor": null,
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"third_party_business": null,
"legal_order_venue": null,
"status_of_prior_restraint": null,
"mistakenly_released_materials": false,
"links": [],
"equipment_seized": [],
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"state": {
"name": "Minnesota",
"abbreviation": "MN"
},
"updates": [],
"case_statuses": [],
"workers_whose_communications_were_obtained": [],
"target_nationality": [],
"targeted_institutions": [],
"tags": [
"Department of Homeland Security"
],
"politicians_or_public_figures_involved": [
"Federal government: Agency"
],
"authors": [],
"categories": [
"Denial of Access"
],
"targeted_journalists": [
"Clint Combs (Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder)"
],
"subpoena_statuses": null,
"type_of_denial": [
"Government event"
]
},
{
"title": "Andrew Ferguson targets news media as FTC chair",
"url": "https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/andrew-ferguson-targets-news-media-as-ftc-chair/",
"first_published_at": "2025-05-23T16:48:42.006809Z",
"last_published_at": "2025-10-27T21:05:41.870951Z",
"latest_revision_created_at": "2025-10-27T20:57:28.341842Z",
"date": "2025-10-23",
"exact_date_unknown": false,
"city": "Washington",
"longitude": -77.03637,
"latitude": 38.89511,
"body": "<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hxo03\">Shortly after President Donald Trump’s second term began, Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson joined Trump in taking steps to intimidate news media that have covered him and his administration unfavorably. We’re documenting Ferguson’s efforts in this regularly updated report.</p><p data-block-key=\"cucrp\">Read about how Trump’s appointees and allies in Congress are striving to chill reporting, revoke funding, censor critical coverage and more <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/blog/trump-allies-pursue-multipronged-campaign-against-the-press/\">here</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"be50\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><p><a id=\"top\" name=\"top\"></a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"c5ogg\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"crs10\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#Oct 23\">Oct. 23, 2025 | Federal appeals court preserves block on FTC investigation of Media Matters</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#Aug 15\">Aug. 15, 2025 | Media Matters granted preliminary injunction against FTC</a></p>\r\n<p><a href=\"#May 21\">May 21, 2025 | FTC chair announces investigation into Media Matters for America</a></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><p data-block-key=\"hxo03\"></p><hr/><p data-block-key=\"64jt0\"></p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><a id=\"Oct 23\" name=\"Oct 23\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"c5ogg\">Oct. 23, 2025 | Federal appeals court preserves block on FTC investigation of Media Matters</h4><p data-block-key=\"du3rb\">A U.S. appeals court upheld a preliminary injunction on Oct. 23, 2025, protecting the nonprofit Media Matters from being forced to hand over a trove of newsgathering and editorial materials to the Federal Trade Commission.</p><p data-block-key=\"92qj6\">The FTC, under Chair Andrew Ferguson, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/andrew-ferguson-targets-news-media-as-ftc-chair/#May%2021\">opened</a> an investigation in May into Media Matters over its alleged collusion with companies that paused their advertising on the social platform X after the media watchdog <a href=\"https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle\">reported</a> that ads for major brands were appearing next to pro-Nazi posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"6lc00\">The agency ordered the nonprofit to turn over scores of internal records, including communications, budget documents and any evidence of coordination with other advocacy groups.</p><p data-block-key=\"10ntt\">In August, a district judge granted the nonprofit a preliminary injunction protecting it from the investigation demand. The FTC appealed the ruling, but on Oct. 23, a divided three-judge appeals panel <a href=\"https://media.cadc.uscourts.gov/orders/docs/2025/10/25-5302LDSN2.pdf\">upheld</a> the lower court’s decision.</p><p data-block-key=\"d64t8\">The deciding majority — U.S. Circuit Judges Patricia Millett and Robert Wilkins — jointly wrote that the FTC had failed to show that it could successfully argue that the investigation was not retaliatory. Further, they wrote that “nothing in the Demand the Commission issued said what, if any, law Media Matters was being investigated for possibly violating, or what conduct of Media Matters is under investigation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"97lug\">The judges noted, however, that the commission could still demonstrate that it would have issued the demand on nonretaliatory grounds.</p><p data-block-key=\"90pmn\">Media Matters Chairman and President Angelo Carusone said in a <a href=\"https://www.reuters.com/legal/government/us-appeals-court-blocks-ftc-subpoena-targeting-media-matters-now-2025-10-23/\">statement to Reuters</a> that the order was a victory for free speech rights.</p><p data-block-key=\"bmd7k\">“This case is about more than the Trump administration’s effort to punish Media Matters,” Carusone said. “It’s a critical test for whether any administration — from any political party — can bully and silence media and non-profit organizations through illegal abuses of power.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"Aug 15\" name=\"Aug 15\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"hfa7u\">Aug. 15, 2025 | Media Matters granted preliminary injunction against FTC</h4><p data-block-key=\"3f5g2\">Media Matters for America was granted a preliminary injunction on Aug. 15, 2025, protecting the nonprofit from being forced to hand over a trove of newsgathering and editorial materials to the Federal Trade Commission.</p><p data-block-key=\"9t520\">The FTC, under Chair Andrew Ferguson, <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/andrew-ferguson-targets-news-media-as-ftc-chair/#May%2021\">opened</a> an investigation in May into Media Matters over its alleged collusion with companies that paused their advertising on the social platform X after the media watchdog <a href=\"https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle\">reported</a> that ads for major brands were appearing next to pro-Nazi posts.</p><p data-block-key=\"fc3ot\">The agency ordered the nonprofit to turn over scores of internal records, including communications, budget documents and any evidence of coordination with other advocacy groups, Status reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"ijf1\">In a <a href=\"https://www.status.news/p/ftc-investigates-media-matters-elon-musk\">statement to Status</a>, a spokesperson for Media Matters described the FTC probe as a political hit job, and the nonprofit <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.281859/gov.uscourts.dcd.281859.1.0.pdf\">filed a lawsuit</a> June 23 to halt the order.</p><p data-block-key=\"dcajg\">“Media Matters faces an ongoing campaign of retribution for exercising its First Amendment rights,” attorneys for the nonprofit wrote. “Now the Federal Trade Commission seeks to punish Media Matters for its journalism and speech in exposing matters of substantial public concern—including how X.com has enabled and profited from extremist content that proliferated after Elon Musk took over the platform formerly known as Twitter.”</p><p data-block-key=\"eompq\">In late 2023 and early 2024, Republican attorneys general in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-attorney-general-subpoenas-media-matters-after-report-on-x/\">Texas</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/missouri-attorney-general-subpoenas-media-matters-after-report-on-x/\">Missouri</a> issued civil investigative demands — a form of subpoena — to the nonprofit for documents related to its reporting. Media Matters ultimately won preliminary injunctions blocking the requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"b8nnj\">District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.281859/gov.uscourts.dcd.281859.34.0_1.pdf\">ruled</a> in favor of Media Matters on Aug. 15, writing that the case “presents a straightforward First Amendment violation.”</p><p data-block-key=\"e5f6a\">“It should alarm all Americans when the Government retaliates against individuals or organizations for engaging in constitutionally protected public debate,” she continued. “And that alarm should ring even louder when the Government retaliates against those engaged in newsgathering and reporting.”</p><p data-block-key=\"6ct2n\">Sooknanan issued an order barring the FTC from implementing or enforcing the request for the nonprofit’s files and communications.</p><p data-block-key=\"47u4v\">Angelo Carusone, chairman and president of Media Matters, praised the decision in a <a href=\"https://www.mediamatters.org/justice-civil-liberties/media-matters-wins-preliminary-injunction-against-retaliatory-ftc\">statement</a>, citing the importance of standing up to what he described as “intimidation from the Trump administration.”</p><p data-block-key=\"4n238\">“This case is not just about the campaign to punish and silence Media Matters,” Carusone wrote. “It is a critical test for whether the courts will allow any administration - from any political party - to bully media and non-profit organizations through illegal abuses of power. We will continue to stand up and fight for the First Amendment rights that protect every American.”</p><p data-block-key=\"9938q\">Attorneys for the agency appealed the ruling Aug. 18 and it will be heard by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div>\r\n<a id=\"May 21\" name=\"May 21\"></a></div>\n<div class=\"block-rich_text\"><h4 data-block-key=\"hxo03\">May 21, 2025 | FTC chair announces investigation into Media Matters for America</h4><p data-block-key=\"e184p\">Federal Trade Commission Chair Andrew Ferguson opened an investigation on May 21, 2025, into Washington, D.C.-based nonprofit Media Matters for America concerning its alleged illegal collusion with advertisers, The New York Times <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/22/technology/ftc-investigates-media-matters.html\">reported</a>.</p><p data-block-key=\"arjhq\">In November 2023, the media watchdog published a <a href=\"https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle\">report</a> written by its investigative reporter Eric Hananoki that found advertisements for major brands appeared next to pro-Nazi posts on the social platform X. <a href=\"https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/17/technology/elon-musk-twitter-x-advertisers.html\">Several</a> major companies subsequently <a href=\"https://www.theverge.com/2023/11/17/23965928/apple-x-ads-elon-musk-antisemitic-posts\">paused</a> their advertising on the platform.</p><p data-block-key=\"7icj1\">Elon Musk, the owner of X, promptly <a href=\"https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.383454/gov.uscourts.txnd.383454.1.0_1.pdf\">sued</a> Media Matters and Hananoki in federal court, alleging they had manipulated the platform’s algorithms to harm X’s relationship with advertisers. The suit is ongoing, and in 2025, Musk became a senior adviser to Trump and the de facto head of the newly minted Department of Government Efficiency.</p><p data-block-key=\"53g6j\">In late 2023 and early 2024, Republican attorneys general in <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/texas-attorney-general-subpoenas-media-matters-after-report-on-x/\">Texas</a> and <a href=\"https://pressfreedomtracker.us/all-incidents/missouri-attorney-general-subpoenas-media-matters-after-report-on-x/\">Missouri</a> issued civil investigative demands — a form of subpoena — to the nonprofit for documents related to its reporting. Media Matters ultimately won preliminary injunctions blocking the requests.</p><p data-block-key=\"7hk06\"><a href=\"https://www.status.news/p/ftc-investigates-media-matters-elon-musk\">According to Status</a>, Musk’s targeting of the outlet has contributed to budgetary strain that forced Media Matters to lay off employees and scale back its work in 2024.</p><p data-block-key=\"5l3pc\">The FTC investigation marks an escalation in the targeting of the nonprofit, and the agency has ordered Media Matters to turn over scores of internal records, including communications, budget documents and any evidence of coordination with other advocacy groups, Status reported.</p><p data-block-key=\"ehi5f\">Ferguson has previously detailed his concern over “colluding” in advertising, the Times reported, in which coordinated advertising boycotts could threaten the “free exchange of ideas.”</p><p data-block-key=\"7osul\">In a statement to Status, a spokesperson for Media Matters described the FTC probe as a political hit job.</p><p data-block-key=\"ad2nu\">“The Trump administration has been defined by naming right-wing media figures to key posts and abusing the power of the federal government to bully political opponents and silence critics,” the representative said. “It’s clear that’s exactly what’s happening here, given Media Matters’ history of holding those same media figures to account. These threats won’t work; we remain steadfast to our mission.”</p></div>\n<div class=\"block-raw_html\"><div class=\"article-content__block rich-text\"><p data-block-key=\"258po\">\r\n<p><a href=\"#top\"><i>Back to Top</i></a></p></div></div>",
"introduction": "",
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"image_caption": "<p data-block-key=\"1cd2d\">Andrew Ferguson, commissioner of the Federal Trade Commission, speaks at a conference in Cambridge, Massachusetts, on Feb. 8, 2025.</p>",
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