Övünç Kutlu
03 October 2023•Update: 03 October 2023
ISTANBUL
Billionaire Elon Musk is facing two lawsuits in the US -- one against X, formally known as Twitter, and a defamation allegation from a user on the social media platform.
X Social Media (XSM), an advertisement agency firm, is arguing that the social media platform caused confusion that led to revenue loss after Musk changed Twitter's name to X.
The Florida-based company which was founded in 2015, alleges that the name change violates state law due to "unfair competition and trademark and service mark infringement," according to a court filing Monday in the US District Court for the Middle District of Florida.
"X Social Media has already suffered loss in revenue that correlates with X Corp.’s rebrand and use of the mark 'X.' It is highly probable this reverse confusion will continue to X Social Media’s financial detriment and to the detriment of the consumers who use and benefit from its services," it added.
The other lawsuit is from recent college graduate Ben Brody, 22., who is suing Musk for defamation, claiming that the billionaire accused him of participating in a violent street brawl on behalf of a neo-Nazi extremist group
"Musk also falsely stated that that Ben Brody’s alleged participation in the extremist brawl meant the incident was probably a ‘false flag’ operation to deceive the American public," said the filing in the District Court of Travis County, Texas. "Musk made these ridiculously false and damaging accusations based on a tweet he had seen from an anonymous far-right extremist Twitter account," it added.
Brody also alleges that he was harassed after Musk accused him of being involved in a fight between the neo-fascist group, Proud Boys, and the Rose City Nationalists, a neo-Nazi group.
