Elon Musk's X Corp is suing a nonprofit organization that tracks hate speech over its claims about Twitter

• Elon Musk's X Corp is suing a nonprofit organization over its claims about hateful content on Twitter.
• X Corp said The Center for Countering Digital Hate illegally scraped its servers and made false claims.

Elon Musk's X Corp is suing a nonprofit organization over its claims about harmful content on the social media platform.

In a lawsuit filed in a California court on Monday, X Corp said that The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) illegally scraped its servers and falsely described the platform as "overwhelmed with harmful content."

Musk's company said in the suit that the center had been running a "scare campaign to drive away advertisers" by illegally accessing data and cherry-picking posts that supported their claims.

Twitter, now X, has been suffering from cash-flow problems after advertisers fled the platform in the early days of Musk's erratic leadership. The billionaire has since admitted the company's ad revenue has fallen by around 50% and is struggling with a "heavy debt load."

In a blog post published on Monday, the CCDH blasted the legal threats as a "brazen attempt to silence honest criticism and independent research." The organization published the first letter it received from Musk's lawyer Alex Spiro as well as the center's response, citing the organization's commitment to open and transparent public discussion.

The nonprofit said in the blog post: "CCDH believes the public has a right to know about the spread of hate and misinformation on the social media platforms that shape our lives, culture, and politics."

In a statement shared with Insider a spokesperson for the CCDH said: "The Center for Countering Digital Hate's research shows that hate and disinformation is spreading like wildfire on the platform under Musk's ownership and this lawsuit is a direct attempt to silence those efforts."

"The CCDH's independent research won't stop - Musk will not bully us into silence," they added.

The organization has three reports about Twitter listed on its website published in the last year, including one examining the amount of anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric since Musk's takeover. Another, published on June 1, cites research that indicates Twitter failed to act on 99% of hate posted by its Twitter Blue subscribers.

X Corp is seeking unspecified damages as well as an injunction that would stop the CCDH from accessing Twitter's data.

Representatives for Twitter responded with an answer that did not address the query.