Andrew Ferguson targets news media as FTC chair

May 21, 2025 | FTC chair announces investigation into Media Matters for America

May 21, 2025 | FTC chair announces investigation into Media Matters for America

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 reported.

In November 2023, the media watchdog published a report written by its investigative reporter Eric Hananoki that found advertisements for major brands appeared next to pro-Nazi posts on the social platform X. Several major companies subsequently paused their advertising on the platform.

Elon Musk, the owner of X, promptly sued 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.

In late 2023 and early 2024, Republican attorneys general in Texas and Missouri 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.

According to Status, 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.

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.

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.”

In a statement to Status, a spokesperson for Media Matters described the FTC probe as a political hit job.

“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.”