(Reuters) -Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence startup xAI sued Apple and ChatGPT maker OpenAI in U.S. federal court in Texas on Monday, accusing them of illegally conspiring to thwart competition for artificial intelligence.
Apple and OpenAI have &#8220;locked up markets to maintain their monopolies and prevent innovators like X and xAI from competing,&#8221; the lawsuit said.
Apple’s partnership with OpenAI has integrated its AI platform ChatGPT into iPhones, iPads, and Macs.
&#8220;If not for its exclusive deal with OpenAI, Apple would have no reason to refrain from more prominently featuring the X app and the Grok app in its App Store,&#8221; the lawsuit said.
In the lawsuit, xAI said it is seeking billions of dollars in alleged damages.
“This latest filing is consistent with Mr. Musk’s ongoing pattern of harassment,&#8221; an OpenAI spokesperson said in a statement.
Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Musk had threatened to sue Cupertino, California-based Apple earlier this month, saying in a post on his social media platform X that Apple&#8217;s behavior &#8220;makes it impossible for any AI company besides OpenAI to reach #1 in the App Store.”
OpenAI&#8217;s ChatGPT became the fastest-growing consumer application in history in the months following its launch in late 2022.
Musk&#8217;s xAI acquired X in March for $33 billion to enhance its chatbot training capabilities. Musk has also integrated the Grok chatbot into vehicles made by his electric automobile company Tesla.
Musk&#8217;s xAI was launched less than two years ago and competes with Microsoft-backed OpenAI as well as with Chinese startup DeepSeek.
Musk is separately suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman in federal court in California to stop its conversion from a nonprofit to a for-profit business. Musk cofounded OpenAI with Altman in 2015 as a nonprofit.
Apple’s App Store practices have been the focus of multiple lawsuits. In one ongoing case by “Fortnite” video game maker Epic Games, a judge ordered Apple to allow greater competition for app payment options.
(Reporting by Mike Scarcella; Editing by David Bario, David Gregorio, Rod Nickel)

FILE PHOTO: Tesla hands over first cars produced at new plant in Gruenheide

Elon Musk Hits Apple, OpenAI With Lawsuit On AI Competition, App Store Rankings

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Artificial Intelligence

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Woke is on the run.
The cultural scourge has stifled free thought, promoted hard Left extremism and corrupted the arts. Now, the pendulum is finally starting to swing in the opposite direction.
As Justine Bateman eloquently <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/justine-bateman-feels-she-breathe-135914542.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAL59qaEAl5oQrn9Sbhjt_qu8fKo-iKLly0Qx1-59i0ZovkUgRNIkxBmkeb-90BXJs3RGFTKYXYPTw_0PpiYQZ4TC2vvcuf68E0zkXRjgeC_GgEgtbOqvca4Zg9u6iEw0q-H7gvODkFclXkVCbMI5yfWMT2bU8ni8NIdlhYRwH5Zd">put it</a>, it’s like we can all breathe again.
Woke may have been destined to crash and burn on its own. It’s antithetical to the American spirit and goes against basic biology. Plus, it’s often meted out in a cruel, hypocritical two-tier fashion.
Hunter Biden <a href="https://nypost.com/2021/06/08/hunter-biden-repeatedly-called-his-white-lawyer-the-n-word-texts-show/">repeatedly texts</a>  the &#8220;n-word&#8221; — zero punishment. Morgan Wallen calls a white friend the “n-word” in a private moment caught on tape – his career implodes overnight. 
Yet, over the past decade we&#8217;ve witnessed a number of brave souls stand up to the woke onslaught. While there are many on team sanity who deserve a shout out — including the voices at The Daily Wire — here are seven culture warriors who hastened woke’s demise and deserve a curtain call.
<h3>Robby Starbuck</h3>
<div id="attachment_901451" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-901451" class="size-large wp-image-901451" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/Untitled-design-32-1024x576.jpg" alt="Conservative influencer Robby Starbuck prior to an interview in New York, US, on Wednesday, March 5, 2025." width="1024" height="576" />Bess Adler/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
The filmmaker/activist became the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/exclusive-robby-starbuck-joins-heritage-foundation-to-continue-fight-against-woke-corporations?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=EXCLUSIVE%3A+Robby+Starbuck+Joins+Heritage+Foundation+To+Continue+Fight+Against+Woke+Corporations">one person</a> woke companies fear more than anyone else. Starbuck’s crusade to expose corporate shenanigans, like excessive DEI policies, proved shockingly effective in recent years.
Just ask <a href="https://www.axios.com/2024/11/27/robby-starbuck-influencer-dei-walmart">Walmart, Target, John Deere, Harley Davidson</a> and more.
A single social media post from Starbuck could send company executives into damage control mode. Sunlight remains the best disinfectant.
Starbuck brings the receipts, too. His recent <a href="https://x.com/robbystarbuck/status/1958868634287161604">exposé on Cracker Barrel</a>, coming on the heels of the brand’s calamitous logo “update,” proved he isn’t done spotlighting woke on steroids.
<h3>Jennifer Sey</h3>
<div id="attachment_457893" style="width: 394px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-457893" class="size-large wp-image-457893" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-384x576.jpg" alt="" width="384" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-384x576.jpg 384w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-200x300.jpg 200w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-768x1152.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-1024x1536.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-1365x2048.jpg 1365w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-1360x2040.jpg 1360w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/11/seyspring2022-0562-2-scaled.jpg 1707w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 384px) 100vw, 384px" />Courtesy of Jennifer Sey</div>
The former gymnast defied her woke overlords at Levi’s and lost, if only on the surface. Sey left her job as Global Brand President after speaking out against pandemic school closures. The woke company demanded she toe the line and not share her opinion publicly. She refused.
She could have licked her wounds or stayed silent. Not Sey. The Colorado resident rolled up her sleeves and kept fighting. She assembled a team to create a documentary detailing just how punishing lockdowns proved for millions of kids, even as we weren’t always allowed to admit it aloud. That upcoming documentary, “Generation-Covid,” is just part of her anti-woke agenda.
She also created XX-XY Athletics, a clothing brand designed for women, not biological men living as women. Her company speaks out against trans women in women’s sports, helping strike a blow against a movement that often shames citizens into silence.
Now, the tide is turning on the subject, with more Americans allowed to speak their minds. Sey helped make that happen.
<h3>Elon Musk</h3>
<div id="attachment_902957" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-902957" class="size-large wp-image-902957" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2180240111-864x576.jpg" alt="A portrait picture of Elon Musk photographed in Krakow, Poland on January 22nd, 2024 and X, former Twitter, logo are screened for illustration photo in Krakow, Poland on October 25, 2024." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2180240111-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2180240111-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2180240111-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/GettyImages-2180240111.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />Beata Zawrzel/NurPhoto via Getty Images</div>
He may be “frenemies” with a certain world leader these days, but Musk struck a mighty blow against woke by buying Twitter. <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-bought-twitter-over-free-speech-concerns-media-groupthink-2022-12">Partly inspired</a> by the platform’s attack on The Babylon Bee and other free speech punishments, Musk took over and restored many censored accounts. His new, streamlined X let free speech reign anew. Suddenly, users didn’t have to self-censor for fear their unwoke opinions could cost them their digital voice.
The platform is far from perfect, but under Musk’s control, it’s a vastly superior product and a woke-free zone.
<h3>Christopher Rufo</h3>
<div id="attachment_877257" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-877257" class="size-large wp-image-877257" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/Untitled-design-33-1024x576.jpg" alt="Christopher Rufo, a conservative activist and New College of Florida trustee, walks through protestors on his way out of a bill signing event featuring Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who signed three education bills on the campus of New College of Florida in Sarasota, Fla. on Monday, May 15, 2023." width="1024" height="576" />Photo by Thomas Simonetti for The Washington Post via Getty Images</div>
Starbuck may be corporate America’s worst nightmare, but Rufo offers a similar service for academics gone wild. Rufo’s relentless pressure campaigns, and fact-based measures, proved highly effective in recent years.
Rufo helped expose former Harvard President Claudine Gay’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/claudine-gay-who-resigned-due-to-plagiarism-allegations-to-teach-reading-and-research-class-at-harvard-in-fall">plagiarism scandal</a>, but that’s just a fraction of his recent activism. Here, he describes why he <a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/conservative-activist-christopher-rufo-on-his-push-to-scrutinize-higher-education">focuses his attention</a> on Ivy League institutions.
“They&#8217;re promoting from their central administrations racial discrimination, scapegoating and even segregation.”
In some cases, they “were” promoting all of the above. Rufo gets results.
<h3>J.K. Rowling</h3>
<div id="attachment_913089" style="width: 828px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-913089" class="size-large wp-image-913089" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/JK-Rowling-818x576.jpg" alt="JK Rowling" width="818" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/JK-Rowling-818x576.jpg 818w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/JK-Rowling-300x211.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/JK-Rowling-768x541.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/JK-Rowling.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 818px) 100vw, 818px" />Samir Hussein/WireImage via Getty Images</div>
Many celebrities, even the biggest stars in the galaxy, stand down under intense woke pressure. Remember how <a href="https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2020/07/rub-and-tug-tv-show-our-lady-j?srsltid=AfmBOooqto0TGS1QBSZKn_jSJCQPHkCoAhh3bv_wnxbTxhD4YsIThjEW">Scarlett Johansson buckled</a> rather than accept a role playing a trans character?
Not Rowling. The “Harry Potter” author, an old-school progressive, began <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/j-k-rowling-hilariously-shreds-transgender-activist-over-bra-fitting-boast">questioning</a> elements of the trans agenda in 2020. That put her squarely in the Left’s cross-hairs, and she’s remained there ever since.
Death threats. Endless cultural cancelations. Serial attacks from the same Legacy Media outlets that once praised her ability to inspire young readers.
And Rowling refused to back down. That posture, combined with the work Sey has done on trans matters, allowed others to speak out against biological men in women’s sports.
<h3>Joe Rogan</h3>
<div id="attachment_909823" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-909823" class="size-large wp-image-909823" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-1024x576.jpg" alt="Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience #2303. Dave Smith and Douglas Murray. PowerfulJRE. YouTube.com" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-300x169.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-768x432.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/04/MixCollage-18-Apr-2025-04-07-PM-2073-2048x1152.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Screenshot: Joe Rogan Experience/YouTube.com</div>
Rogan&#8217;s relentless curiosity, eagerness to let so many voices share his platform, and his dedication to an open, long-form conversation has given free speech a major boost. 
Even more important, Rogan had a change of heart regarding one potential guest. Two years ago, Rogan seemed disinterested in chatting up former President Donald Trump.
Then, as he watched the Democratic Party stifle speech across the culture, he realized his platform could give Trump a boost in the 2024 presidential campaign. It’s likely why other rebel comics did the same with the Trump-Vance ticket, from Andrew Schulz to Tim Dillon.
<h3>President Donald Trump</h3>
<div id="attachment_942191" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-942191" class="size-large wp-image-942191" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2222437639-865x576.jpg" alt="President Donald Trump speaks to the media before boarding Marine One outside the White House on July 1, 2025 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images)" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2222437639-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2222437639-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2222437639-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/07/GettyImages-2222437639.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Ricky Carioti/The Washington Post via Getty Images</div>
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIF2rdXnpMo">“Everything woke turns to s***,”</a> The 45th and 47th president once said, slicing through the noise to make perfect sense. He’s right, of course, and he helped make woke retreat to its current, cornered state.
The president’s frank talk, blustery persona and eagerness to speak sans filter did more than burnish his brand. He gave us permission to do the same, to shoot straight and take the consequences.
Plus, he used his executive orders to protect female athletes against biological male competitors and doubled down on Rufo’s efforts to rein in woke colleges. His anti-DEI initiatives will be part of his legacy, no doubt.
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Woke is far from gone, despite the work of these culture warriors. Some companies and schools are using sleight-of-hand techniques to keep on discriminating on the basis of race and gender.
The disgraced Gay is still teaching students at Harvard.
Hollywood will keep making movies about five-foot-nothing women beating up men double their size. Gender and race-swapped stories won’t fade to black like 3D movies and found footage shockers.
Still, woke has taken body blow after body blow. And these powerful figures threw some of the heaviest punches.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

Robby Starbuck

Seven Culture Warriors Who Put Woke On The Run

Christopher Rufo

Donald Trump

J.K. Rowling

Joe Rogan

Twitter

Woke Culture

Tech titan Elon Musk has paused efforts to make a new political party while he mulls supporting Vice President JD Vance for a 2028 White House run.
Musk proposed creating a new political party in June as he engaged in a high-profile feud with President Donald Trump over the One Big, Beautiful Bill — which was at that time moving through Congress. Musk is now rethinking his plans for the “America Party” over hesitancy to cause rifts with top Republicans, especially Vance, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/elon-musk-third-political-party-69bf9bd8">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
Musk and close associates have told others that the tech tycoon, CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, is considering financially backing Vance should he choose to run for president in 2028. Musk, recognized as the wealthiest man in the world, spent close to $300 million in the 2024 election cycle supporting Trump and other Republicans.
Earlier this month, Trump said that Vance is the “most likely” contender at this stage to be the 2028 GOP nominee.
“Well, I think most likely, in all fairness,” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-reveals-who-will-most-likely-be-the-2028-republican-nominee">said</a> Trump in response to a question about Vance’s &#8220;heir-apparent&#8221; status. “He’s the vice president. I think Marco is also somebody that maybe would get together with JD in some form.”
“I also think we have incredible people, some of the people on the stage right here, so it’s too early obviously to talk about it,” Trump added. “But certainly, [Vance] is doing a great job, and he would be probably favored at this point.”
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Musk and Trump have appeared to mend somewhat the rift that drove them apart during the summer, though the two have had little public interaction since. Vance has been conciliatory toward the tech mogul, <a href="https://x.com/MAGAVoice/status/1954703389419532435">telling</a> The Gateway Pundit in an interview earlier this month that he wants Musk to “come back into the fold.”
“He&#8217;s obviously got a complicated relationship right now with the Trump White House. My argument to Elon is, like, you&#8217;re not gonna be on the left, right? Even if you wanted to be – and he doesn&#8217;t – they&#8217;re not gonna have you back. That ship has sailed,” said Vance. “I really think it&#8217;s a mistake for him to try to break from the president. So, my hope is that by the time of the midterms, he&#8217;s kind of come back into the fold.”
“Obviously, the drama around him and the White House over the last couple of months, again, my hope is that just kind of cools down a little bit,” the vice president continued. &#8220;He did help us a lot in the election. And the president even says, with all his frustration, Elon was a very, very critical part of the team last election, and so my hope is by the midterms things are kind of back to normal.”

Johnson, Trump, Musk, Vance

Musk Hits Pause On New Party Launch While He Weighs Backing Vance In 2028

Musk Holds Off Launching New Party While He Weighs Backing Vance 2028 Bid

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Tesla must face a certified class action by California drivers who said Elon Musk misled them for eight years about the self-driving capabilities of his company&#8217;s electric vehicles.
U.S. District Judge Rita Lin said the common question of whether Tesla lacked sensors to achieve high-level autonomy, plus its inability to &#8220;demonstrate a long-distance autonomous drive with any of its vehicles,&#8221; justified group lawsuits by two sets of drivers who purchased its Full Self-Driving technology package.
In her decision on Monday, the San Francisco-based judge also said thousands of people likely saw Tesla&#8217;s claim in the &#8220;Autopilot&#8221; section of its website from October 2016 to August 2024 that its vehicles contained hardware for full self-driving.
Tesla made a similar claim in a blog post, newsletter, and quarterly earnings call, as did Musk at a 2016 press conference.
&#8220;While these channels alone may not ordinarily be enough to establish class-wide exposure for a traditional car manufacturer, Tesla&#8217;s distinctive advertising strategy warrants a departure from the typical approach,&#8221; Lin wrote.
Tesla does not use mass advertising or independent dealers, and Lin said it was reasonable to infer that class members interested in Full Self-Driving technology went to Tesla&#8217;s website to get information.
Lawyers for Tesla did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Tuesday.
The Austin, Texas-based company had said it was unreasonable to assume all class members saw the challenged statements, and there was no common proof that the statements were material.
Class actions can allow larger recoveries at lower cost than if plaintiffs were forced to sue individually.
The California classes include drivers who bought the Full Self-Driving package from May 19, 2017, to July 31, 2024, and opted out of Tesla&#8217;s arbitration agreement, and drivers who bought the package from October 20, 2016, to May 19, 2017.
Lin refused to certify a class of drivers who bought Tesla&#8217;s Enhanced Autopilot package because its &#8220;core product qualities&#8221; did not require full self-driving functionality, making Tesla&#8217;s alleged false statements immaterial to purchasing decisions.
Federal officials have examined whether Tesla&#8217;s full self-driving software is safe. The software is also a key component of Tesla&#8217;s robotaxis.
The case is In re Tesla Advanced Driver Assistance Systems Litigation, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 22-05240.
(Reporting by Jonathan Stempel in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)

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Anti-woke voices share a social media saying when sanity returns to the culture, be it acknowledging that sex sells in ads or proof that Cancel Culture is on the run.
Nature is healing.
That rings true regarding the saga of Gina Carano. The MMA standout-turned-action heroine had it all – a burgeoning career, the adoration of fans and a plum gig on Disney+’s “The Mandalorian.”
Then Disney fired her for “problematic” social media posts.
Carano just settled her lawsuit against the Mouse House with the suggestion that the two sides might work together on future projects. She didn’t land a knockout legal blow but staring down arguably the biggest company in Hollywood proved a victory all the same.
You might call it a healing moment.
She wasn’t destined for movie stardom, at least not during her MMA days. As fate would have it, Oscar-winning director Steven Soderbergh saw something in Carano while watching her on TV. He eventually crafted an action thriller around her beauty and brawn via 2011’s “<a href="https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1506999/">Haywire</a>.”
<div id="attachment_958907" style="width: 991px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-958907" class="wp-image-958907 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-981x576.jpg" alt="BERLIN, GERMANY - FEBRUARY 15: Actors Antonio Banderas and Gina Carano attend the &quot;Haywire&quot; Press Conference during day seven of the 62nd Berlin International Film Festival at the Grand Hyatt on February 15, 2012 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)" width="981" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-981x576.jpg 981w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-300x176.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717-768x451.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-139034717.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 981px) 100vw, 981px" />Sean Gallup/Getty Images</div>
The film <a href="https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt1506999/?ref_=bo_se_r_1">wasn’t a smash</a>, but it proved she could act alongside established stars like Antonio Banderas, Channing Tatum, and Michael Fassbender. The Hollywood door creaked open.
She kept working on screen, landing notable roles in “Deadpool,” “Fast &amp; Furious 6” and “Extraction.”
And then came “The Mandalorian.” Disney finally got the “Star Wars” magic right with the TV series starring Pedro Pascal as the title character. She joined the cast as Cara Dune, a loner seeking vengeance against the Empire for terminating her home planet of Alderaan. She quickly became a fan favorite, and buzz began to build that Disney+ would spin off her character into her own show.
Carano says “Mandalorian” director Jon Favreau of “Iron Man” fame told her, <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/gina-carano-interview-madalorian-firing-elon-musk-disney-1235851597/">“your life is about to change.”</a>
<div id="attachment_958915" style="width: 862px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-958915" class="size-large wp-image-958915" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-852x576.jpg" alt="HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA - NOVEMBER 13: (L-R) Ming-Na Wen, Pedro Pascal, Executive Producer Jon Favreau, Executive Producer/Director Dave Filoni, Gina Carano, Carl Weathers, Executive Producer Kathleen Kennedy and Werner Herzog arrive at the premiere of Lucasfilm's first-ever, live-action series, &quot;The Mandalorian,&quot; at the El Capitan Theatre in Hollywood, Calif. on November 13, 2019. &quot;The Mandalorian&quot; streams exclusively on Disney+. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney)" width="852" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-852x576.jpg 852w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-300x203.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494-768x519.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/08/GettyImages-1187551494.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 852px) 100vw, 852px" />Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for Disney</div>
She was this close to stardom, the kind young actors can only dream about. Except Carano didn’t follow Hollywood’s progressive playbook. She wasn’t openly conservative, but she began questioning COVID-19 protocols on social media, echoing the thoughts of many Americans but not the Legacy Media or the Left.
She pushed for election reform, noting how fellow Americans lacked trust in the current system. Once again, a fairly mainstream view was suddenly deemed out of bounds following President Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory over Donald Trump.
She considered putting up a black square following the death of George Floyd, but she didn’t want to follow the crowd with empty posturing.
Worst of all to the woke Left, she refused to put her pronouns in her social media bio, instead using a trio of silly words – Beep/Bop/Boop.
The Left went into a frenzy over that stunt, while she defended her actions as a stand against <a href="https://x.com/ginacarano/status/1305301756792860674">social media bullying</a>.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Beep/bop/boop has zero to do with mocking trans people 🤍&amp; 💯 to do with exposing the bullying mentality of the mob that has taken over the voices of many genuine causes.
I want people to know you can take hate with a smile. So BOOP you for misunderstanding. 😊 <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/AllLoveNoHate?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#AllLoveNoHate</a> <a href="https://t.co/Qe48AiZyOL">pic.twitter.com/Qe48AiZyOL</a>
— Gina Carano 🕯 (@ginacarano) <a href="https://twitter.com/ginacarano/status/1305301756792860674?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 14, 2020</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
Credit: @ginacarano/X
Carano later revealed that Team Disney stepped in, asking her to stop sharing her thoughts online. She added the company put her through media training and even wanted to set up a Zoom meeting between the starlet and <a href="https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/tv/tv-features/gina-carano-interview-madalorian-firing-elon-musk-disney-1235851597/">45 LGBTQ+ Disney employees</a>, all angry at her refusal to share her pronouns.
Carano declined the offer, instead suggesting she have dinner with a much smaller group to reach across the cultural aisle. They refused, she contends.
Disney seemingly craved an excuse to cut ties with Carano. The company got it when she shared a plea for tolerance that evoked Nazi Germany.
<blockquote>Jews were beaten in the streets, not by Nazi soldiers but by their neighbors … even by children … Because history is edited, most people today don’t realize that to get to the point where Nazi soldiers could easily round up thousands of Jews, the government first made their own neighbors hate them simply for being Jews. How is that any different from hating someone for their political views?</blockquote>
Disney used the post as a pretext for termination. Disney&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gina-carano-lucasfilm-which-fired-her-pushing-her-for-an-emmy">explanation for her dismissal</a> angered many fans.
<blockquote>Gina Carano is not currently employed by Lucasfilm and there are no plans for her to be in the future. Nevertheless, her social media posts denigrating people based on their cultural and religious identities are abhorrent and unacceptable.</blockquote>
One problem? The post did no such thing. Another problem? Fellow Disney stars said far worse on social media sans punishment. 
Many called out Pascal for a post comparing <a href="https://ewerickson.substack.com/p/meet-the-double-standard-in-cancel">Trump voters to Nazis.</a>
Left unsaid? Disney worked with Bette Midler on “Hocus Pocus 2” following Carano’s dismissal, but Midler’s social media posts can be <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/disney-cancel-bette-midler-hocus-pocus-2/">cruel and dehumanizing</a>.
Disney opted not to punish either star or put them through media training.
Carano stopped working in traditional Hollywood. She next starred in The Daily Wire’s original western “<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/videos/terror-on-the-prairie?row=0&amp;elementPosition=28&amp;rowType=Square+Show+Carousel">Terror on the Prairie</a>” – a deal signed days after Disney’s dismissal. She also landed a small part in “My Son Hunter,” a Breitbart original film about Hunter Biden directed by Robert Davi.
<div id="attachment_395948" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-395948" class="wp-image-395948 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1024x576.jpeg" alt="Gina Carano in &quot;Terror on the Prairie.&quot; The Daily Wire/Bonfire Legend" width="1024" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1024x576.jpeg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-300x169.jpeg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-768x432.jpeg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-1536x864.jpeg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2022/06/D5B28657-62DD-4F0E-AA27-D4F70780BFC7-2048x1152.jpeg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />Gina Carano in &#8220;Terror on the Prairie.&#8221; The Daily Wire/Bonfire Legend</div>
Her career appeared to be over, at least within official Hollywood corridors. Then Elon Musk caught wind of her story and offered to pay for Carano to sue Disney for wrongful termination.
That powerful backing made all the difference. <a href="https://people.com/gina-carano-settles-lawsuit-disney-mandalorian-firing-thanks-elon-musk-11787322">Disney’s official statement</a> following the settlement suggests she might return to the “Star Wars” galaxy at some point. A “Mandalorian” feature film is tentatively slated for a May 2026 release.
<blockquote>Ms. Carano was always well respected by her directors, co-stars, and staff, and she worked hard to perfect her craft while treating her colleagues with kindness and respect… With this lawsuit concluded, we look forward to identifying opportunities to work together with Ms. Carano in the near future.</blockquote>
It’s unclear if Hollywood, still a relentlessly liberal enclave that discriminates against some conservatives, will hire Carano for new projects.
By standing firm and defending her right to speak freely, however, she can hold her head high no matter the direction her acting career takes from here.
* * *
Christian Toto is an award-winning journalist, movie critic and editor of <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>. He previously served as associate editor with Breitbart News’ Big Hollywood. Follow him at <a href="https://www.hollywoodintoto.com/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">HollywoodInToto.com</a>.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

FAN EXPO Canada 2024

The Rebel Returns: The Vindication Of Gina Carano

Acting

Cancel Culture

Disney

Gina Carano

Hollywood

Star Wars

The Mandalorian

A Trump administration staffer is receiving warm words and calls for recognition after he was reportedly beaten in Washington, D.C., while protecting a woman from an attempted carjacking.
The staffer, Ed Coristine, 19, who once went by the moniker “Big Balls” online, works at the Social Security Administration and began his government service as a member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) project. President Donald Trump shared a photo on Tuesday of Coristine covered in blood after the attack and threatened to “federalize” D.C. over rampant crime.
“I have to say that somebody from DOGE was very badly hurt last night. You saw that – a young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in DC,” said Trump on Tuesday. “Either they&#8217;re going to straighten their act out in terms of government and in terms of protection, or we&#8217;re going to have to federalize and run it the way it&#8217;s supposed to be run.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
.<a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a>: &#8220;Somebody from <a href="https://twitter.com/DOGE?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@DOGE</a> was very badly hurt last night&#8230; a young man who was beat up by a bunch of thugs in D.C. Either they&#8217;re going to straighten their act out&#8230; or we&#8217;re going to have to federalize and run it the way it&#8217;s supposed to be run.&#8221; <a href="https://t.co/Z6Ywr9oYYX">https://t.co/Z6Ywr9oYYX</a> <a href="https://t.co/yhg9mRfDaF">pic.twitter.com/yhg9mRfDaF</a>
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1952840166458195972?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">August 5, 2025</a></blockquote>
<a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ex-doge-staffer-edward-coristine-injured-in-attempted-carjacking-trump-federal-takeover-of-d-c/">According</a> to CBS News, the woman was Coristine&#8217;s &#8220;significant other.&#8221; The outlet reported that they were surrounded by about 10 teenagers, and the suspects made a comment about taking their vehicle. Coristine then pushed his significant other into the vehicle and turned to deal with the alleged attackers, the report said.
In a Truth Social <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/114977985620971126">post</a>, the president said that crime in the nation’s capital is “totally out of control” and that the attack on Coristine was carried out by “local ‘youths’ and gang members.” Criminal teens are operating with impunity, “knowing that they will be almost immediately released.”
“The Law in D.C. must be changed to prosecute these ‘minors’ as adults, and lock them up for a long time, starting at age 14,” said Trump. &#8220;Washington, D.C., must be safe, clean, and beautiful for all Americans and, importantly, for the World to see.”
The attack reportedly happened on Sunday morning around 3 a.m. near Dupont Circle. Police arrested two 15-year-olds at the scene and charged them with unarmored carjacking, according to CBS News. Most of the teens fled when law enforcement arrived. A black iPhone 16 was stolen, according to the police report.
Tech titan Elon Musk, the former head of DOGE, backed the president’s call to take over Washington, D.C. Musk also said Coristine was attacked trying to assist a woman who was the initial target of “a gang of about a dozen young men.”
“A few days ago, a gang of about a dozen young men tried to assault a woman in her car at night in DC. A [DOGE] team member saw what was happening, ran to defend her and was severely beaten to the point of concussion, but he saved her. It is time to federalize DC,” Musk posted.
Coristine has been hailed for his bravery. GOP Sen. Mike Lee of Utah floated the idea of rewarding Coristine with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the highest civilian honor.
“Big Balls for the Medal of Freedom. Who agrees?” Lee <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1952877203919913290">posted</a> to X.
“WOW. The [DOGE] employee who was brutally beaten in DC for defending a woman has been identified as none other than ‘BIG BALLS,’” the popular account Libs of TikTok <a href="https://x.com/libsoftiktok/status/1952869965742158269">posted</a>. “Big Balls is a HERO!”

Police lights

Trump Admin Staffer ‘Big Balls’ Hailed As Hero After Musk Says He Saved Woman From ‘Gang’ In D.C.

Crime

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Mike Lee

U.S.

Washington D.C.

White House

Elon Musk, the billionaire Tesla and SpaceX CEO and former senior adviser to President Donald Trump, donated $5 million to a Trump-aligned political action committee in late June, just one month after Musk and Trump got into a messy public feud.
According to recent campaign finance filings, Musk gave $5 million to MAGA Inc. on June 27, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/policy/technology/5435115-elon-musk-trump-donations/">reported</a>. On the same day, he also gave $5 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund and Congressional Leadership Fund, which boost Republicans. A little over a week later, Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1941584569523732930">announced</a> the formation of the &#8220;America Party,&#8221; an idea he pursued after running a poll on X, asking users if they &#8220;want independence from the two-party (some would say uniparty) system!&#8221;
There has been some fear that Musk&#8217;s America Party could hurt Republicans in the 2026 midterm elections, but in the weeks following Musk&#8217;s announcement of the new party, nothing has been done to launch it, according to <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/07/30/elon-musk-america-party-trump-tesla-spacex">Axios</a>. Musk reportedly spent over $250 million to help Trump and other Republicans in 2024. The billionaire, however, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ive-done-enough-musk-says-he-will-spend-a-lot-less-on-future-political-campaigns">said</a> in May that he would spend &#8220;a lot less&#8221; on political campaigns &#8220;in the future.&#8221;
In late May and into early June, Trump and Musk traded barbs after Musk, who was behind the administration&#8217;s Department of Government Efficiency, came out against the president&#8217;s &#8220;Big, Beautiful Bill.&#8221; Musk argued that the legislation didn&#8217;t do enough to cut government waste. Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-says-musk-just-went-crazy-threatens-his-governmental-subsidies-and-contracts?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Trump+Says+Musk+%E2%80%98Just+Went+CRAZY%2C%E2%80%99+Threatens+His+%E2%80%98Governmental+Subsidies+And+Contracts%E2%80%99">fired back</a>, saying that Musk &#8220;just went CRAZY&#8221; and threatened to cut government contracts with Musk&#8217;s companies.
The Tesla and SpaceX CEO then alleged that the Jeffrey Epstein files hadn&#8217;t been made public because Trump is in them. He later deleted that post and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/went-too-far-musk-apologizes-to-trump-after-public-feud?author=Virginia+Kruta&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=%E2%80%98Went+Too+Far%E2%80%99%3A+Musk+Apologizes+To+Trump+After+Public+Feud">apologized</a> for some of his posts about Trump that &#8220;went too far.&#8221; Just one day after donating to Trump&#8217;s super PAC, however, Musk again posted criticism of the president&#8217;s tax bill. Musk has also <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/cover-musk-floods-posts-attacking-trump-epstein/story?id=123836343">blasted</a> the Trump administration&#8217;s handling of the Epstein case, calling it a &#8220;cover up.&#8221;
While Trump said he has &#8220;no hard feelings&#8221; toward Musk, the president continued his criticism of his former senior adviser, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/donald-trump-elon-musk-a-train-wreck-third-party-push-will-cause-chaos">saying</a> in early July that Musk became a &#8220;TRAIN WRECK.&#8221;
&#8220;He even wants to start a Third Political Party, despite the fact that they have never succeeded in the United States — The System seems not designed for them,” he added. “The one thing Third Parties are good for is the creation of Complete and Total DISRUPTION &amp; CHAOS, and we have enough of that with the Radical Left Democrats, who have lost their confidence and their minds!”

Donald Trump/Elon Musk

Elon Musk Donated $5M To Trump-Aligned Super PAC One Month After Public Feud With President

campaign donation

Super PACs

A jury in Miami found that Tesla was partly to blame for a fatal 2019 crash that killed a young woman and severely wounded her boyfriend. It was the first federal trial involving a fatal crash linked to Tesla&#8217;s Autopilot mode.
The verdict, which came down on Friday, found that Tesla and its self-driving technology were 33% responsible for the crash, with the remainder of the blame falling on the driver, George Brian McGee, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/01/business/tesla-autopilot-federal-trial-verdict.html">reported</a>. Tesla could be forced to pay as much as $243 million to the parents of the deceased woman, Naibel Benavides, and her boyfriend, Dillon Angulo — but Elon Musk&#8217;s electric vehicle company said it would appeal the jury&#8217;s verdict.
“Today’s verdict is wrong and only works to set back automotive safety and jeopardize Tesla’s and the entire industry’s efforts to develop and implement lifesaving technology,” Tesla said.
“Florida law is explicit that punitive damages have been all but eliminated in product liability cases such as this one,” the company added. “We are confident that the punitive damage award at a minimum, and likely this whole verdict, will be overturned by the appellate court.”
The crash at the center of the case took place on April 25, 2019, when McGee was driving his Tesla Model S near Key Largo, Florida, and blew through an intersection at 62 mph, crashing into a black SUV that was legally parked on the side of a dirt road near the intersection. The Tesla was in Autopilot mode at the time of the crash, but McGee had his foot on the accelerator, which overrides Autopilot mode. Before he reached the intersection, McGee dropped his phone and bent down to look for it, and told police that he did not see the intersection or the stop sign.
McGee said on the stand that he thought Tesla&#8217;s Autopilot mode would protect him from a crash.
Lawyers representing the plaintiffs in the federal trial argued that Musk and Tesla have exaggerated Tesla&#8217;s Autopilot technology.
“The Tesla car is a good car,” attorney Brett Schreiber said, according to the <a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/florida-keys/article311553847.html">Miami Herald</a>. “It’s the Autopilot that will kill you.”
During the trial, Schreiber also quoted Musk, who has said that Tesla&#8217;s autopilot system is safer than a human driver.
Tesla&#8217;s lawyers pinned the entire blame for the crash on McGee, who was on his phone for 13 minutes before the crash, and was driving at varying speeds. Joel Smith, a lawyer representing Tesla, said McGee was &#8220;reckless&#8221; and &#8220;aggressive,&#8221; adding that “no car could have prevented” the crash. Smith also pointed to Tesla&#8217;s owner&#8217;s manual, which states, “It is the drivers’ responsibility to stay alert, drive safely and be in control of the vehicle.”
The jury&#8217;s verdict comes as Tesla looks to roll out self-driving robotaxis on American streets. The first robotaxis <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/tesla-shares-soar-after-first-robotaxis-hit-the-road">hit the road</a> for testing in Austin, Texas, in June.

Tesla Faces $243 Million Verdict In Lawsuit Over Fatal 2019 Autopilot Crash

Car Crash

Florida

Miami

Tennessee Governor Bill Lee announced Monday that the state would be partnering with Elon Musk’s Boring Company to build an underground tunnel connecting the Nashville airport to the city’s downtown.
The project will be called the “Music City Loop” and will connect Nashville International Airport to the heart of the city’s entertainment district via an underground tunnel. Using electric vehicles, the trip will take about eight minutes, <a href="https://www.tn.gov/governor/news/2025/7/28/gov--lee--the-boring-company-unveil-transformative-underground-music-city-loop-project.html">according</a> to the Boring Company.
During a press conference at the airport, Lee said that the project would be 100% privately funded with “no cost to taxpayers.” He said that it was brought to Nashville because it is the “most dynamic city in the country” and that it would lead to less congestion on the roads.
“Tennessee continues to lead the nation in finding innovative solutions to infrastructure challenges,” Lee said. “By leveraging the innovation of private sector companies like The Boring Company, we’re exploring possibilities we couldn’t achieve on our own as a state. This partnership represents the kind of forward-thinking, fiscally responsible approach that will define the future of transportation in Tennessee.”
The loop will be built under state-owned roads, and construction is projected to begin in the fall of 2026, pending approvals.
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy was also present at the announcement, saying that he was “thrilled about this project.”
Duffy said that the project would help reduce congestion on the roads, which has become worse in recent years as Tennessee has seen an influx of new residents. He said that the congestion was a “product of your own success” because people were attracted to the politics of Tennessee.
Boring Company President Steve Davis said at a press conference that the rock below Tennessee was really difficult to drill through, but that his engineers would be able to figure it out. He also said that the company would start consideration of potential places to expand the tunnel.
The decision to bring a tunnel to Nashville was celebrated by Tennessee GOP Senators Marsha Blackburn and Bill Hagerty.
&#8220;As Nashville International Airport continues to set passenger records and our city experiences an economic boom, the Boring Company&#8217;s investment in the Music City Loop will help ease growing pains and address transportation challenges at zero cost to Tennessee taxpayers,&#8221; Blackburn said. &#8220;The Boring Company could not have picked a better new home for this state-of-the-art tunneling technology than Nashville, and I look forward to seeing the tremendous impact this investment will have on our city and its residents.”

Milken Institute’s Global Conference Held In Beverly Hills

Elon Musk’s Boring Company Announces Major Tunnel Project In Red State

Bill Lee

Economy

Marsha Blackburn

Nashville

Tennessee

Leftist outlet Media Matters is facing financial struggles over lawsuits from X owner Elon Musk and legal fees related to investigations by the Trump administration.
The nonprofit &#8220;watchdog&#8221; group owes approximately $15 million, largely due to legal action by Musk and probes from the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as well as Republican state attorneys general, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/25/us/politics/media-matters-musk-crisis.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZE8.uS77.aCoRbTwphEFY&amp;smid=url-share" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on Friday.
Musk&#8217;s lawsuit came after a Media Matters story in 2023 <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/twitter/musk-endorses-antisemitic-conspiracy-theory-x-has-been-placing-ads-apple-bravo-ibm-oracle">claimed</a> that his X social media platform was placing ads for major corporations alongside Nazi-related content, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/elon-musk-to-file-thermonuclear-suit-against-media-matters-over-contrived-story-on-x">reported</a>. Companies such as Apple and IBM pulled advertisements from X because of the story.
A Musk press release said the outlet &#8220;completely misrepresented the real user experience on X, in another attempt to undermine freedom of speech and mislead advertisers.&#8221;
The Times reported that Musk has continued pursuing the lawsuit, refusing settlements and appealing or filing elsewhere if Media Matters were to win in court. Musk even filed lawsuits in Ireland and Singapore.
The outlet is reducing its staff and trying to raise money from donors, the Times reported. Although publicly, Media Matters says &#8220;it has no plans to close,&#8221; sources told the Times it is considering shutting down as a last resort.
In May of this year, the FTC launched an investigation into the outlet over reports that it illegally coordinated advertiser boycotts against X, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/feds-probe-media-matters-over-plot-to-defund-musks-x-silence-dissenting-voices">reported</a>.
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson, appointed by President Donald Trump, had signaled potential action in December, saying the agency “must prosecute any unlawful collusion between online platforms, and confront advertiser boycotts which threaten competition,” <a href="https://www.reuters.com/sustainability/boards-policy-regulation/ftc-probes-media-matters-over-musks-x-boycott-claims-document-shows-2025-05-22/">according</a> to Reuters.
Media Matters also faced investigations from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Missouri Attorney General Andrew Bailey. A federal court blocked the Texas probe, and Missouri agreed to drop its inquiry; however, the outlet still incurred almost $2 million in legal fees, the Times reported.
Angelo Carusone, president of Media Matters, said the legal problems were &#8220;a revenge campaign against Media Matters intended to stymie or stop us entirely from exercising our constitutional rights,&#8221; the Times reported.
The financial struggles come as multiple organizations have settled with the Trump administration. CBS News <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/big-and-important-win-trump-crows-over-settlement-in-cbs-paramount-lawsuit">paid</a> $16 million to settle a lawsuit with President Donald Trump, who alleged that the outlet deceptively edited a 60 Minutes interview with Kamala Harris. Columbia University <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/columbia-university-retreats-as-trump-scores-historic-220m-settlement">agreed</a> to pay a $200 million settlement over its handling of anti-Israel protests.
“Unlike some major media entities that have recently caved to pressure, we understand that this battle is larger than us,” Carusone told the Times in a statement. “That’s why we continue to carry out our mission and fight in court.”
However, the outlet is facing financial difficulties despite its extensive list of top Democratic donors, which includes billionaire George Soros.
A leaked list of donors revealed that the outlet has received millions in donations from Deborah Simon, the daughter of billionaire shopping mall developer Melvin Simon, and Bain Capital co-chairman Joshua Bekenstein and his wife, Anita. The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leaked-media-matters-donor-list-reveal-it-is-funded-by-democrat-mega-donors">reported</a> on this. Both Simon and Bekenstein were among <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/interactive/2022/top-election-donors-2022/">the top 50 political donors</a> in the 2022 midterms.
Media Matters had raised $16.5 million in 2022, with Carusone collecting a salary of $406,000.
The outlet <a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/about-us">describes</a> itself as combating misinformation and providing &#8220;resources to rebut false claims and to take direct action against offending media institutions.&#8221; However, the left-leaning N.Y. Times said its mission is &#8220;to help Democrats and undermine Republicans.&#8221;
Media Matters has repeatedly attacked Republicans and conservative groups, including The Daily Wire. In 2022, it attempted to cancel Daily Wire host Matt Walsh.
&#8220;I will never surrender even a single inch of ground to a pitchfork mob full of degenerate idiots,&#8221; Walsh <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/to-the-leftist-vultures-at-media-matters-kiss-my-ass">responded</a> at the time.
&nbsp;

US-POLITICS-MUSK-TRUMP

Elon Musk’s Lawsuits And A Federal Probe Threaten To Bring Down Media Matters

Federal Trade Commission

Media

Media Matters For America

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Elon Musk announced on Monday that he would not cooperate with French authorities in their “politically motivated criminal investigations&#8221; against his social media platform, X.
The Paris public prosecutor’s office opened a <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/france-opens-probe-into-musks-x-over-algorithm/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">probe</a> against X in June in response to allegations by politician Eric Bothorel that the platform was performing “fraudulent data extraction” for “foreign interference purposes.”
A separate complaint said that X &#8220;now offers an enormous amount of hateful, racist, anti-LGBT+ and homophobic political content, which aims to skew the democratic debate in France.&#8221;
Musk has <a href="https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1947213316331282504" target="_blank" rel="noopener">dismissed</a> the allegations as “completely false” and says the probe “egregiously undermines X’s fundamental right to due process and threatens our users’ rights to privacy and free speech.”
“For these reasons, X has not acceded to the French authorities’ demands, as we have a legal right to do.”
“French authorities have requested access to X’s recommendation algorithm and real-time data about all user posts on the platform in order for several ‘experts’ to analyze the data and purportedly &#8216;uncover the truth&#8217; about the operation of the X platform,” Musk wrote.
He claimed that two of the proposed experts are openly hostile towards X. One, David Chalaverias, leads a campaign called <a href="https://www.escape-x.org/Why-quit-X-Launch-of-Escape-X-campaign.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">EscapeX</a>, which calls for a mass exodus from the platform, citing a biased algorithm and “Elon Musk&#8217;s influence in European democracies.”
“The involvement of these individuals raises serious concerns about the impartiality, fairness, and political motivations of the investigation, to put it charitably,” Musk wrote.
He also noted that while X is “in the dark” about the exact nature of the allegations, French authorities have labeled the company as an “organized gang.” This designation, which is usually reserved for drug cartels or mafia groups, gives police greater investigative power, including the authorization to conduct searches, wiretaps, and surveillance against Musk and his employees. Noncompliance could result in an <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/paris-prosecutor-contacts-police-probe-into-social-media-platform-x-advances-2025-07-11/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">arrest</a> warrant.
“Based on what we know so far, X believes that this investigation is distorting French law in order to serve a political agenda and, ultimately, restrict free speech,” he concluded.
This comes amidst a broader European <a href="https://www.politico.eu/article/eu-meta-apple-x-fines-digital-antitrust-rules-digital-services-act-elon-musk/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">movement</a> to crack down on tech companies in the wake of the European Union’s 2022 Digital Services Act, and increasing <a href="https://www.newsweek.com/does-europe-have-free-speech-problem-2034349" target="_blank" rel="noopener">disagreement</a> between the United States and Europe on the limits of free speech.
The European Commission has already fined Apple and Meta millions of euros. It is in the middle of a drawn-out investigation into X, and has already found that X violated the Digital Services Act on three accounts, including “the transparency of its advertising; data access for researchers; and the use of blue check marks that connote trust but can be bought — which could constitute deceptive design.”
Musk <a href="https://x.com/elonmusk/status/1811783320839008381?lang=en" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the EU tried to pressure X into censoring its users: “The European Commission offered X an illegal secret deal: if we quietly censored speech without telling anyone, they would not fine us.”
“The other platforms accepted that deal. X did not.”

Elon Won’t Cooperate With France’s ‘Politically Motivated’ Investigations Into X

France

Investigation

WASHINGTON—As Congress gears up for a fight over the rescissions package that would make permanent many of the Department of Government Efficiency&#8217;s cuts, House Republicans are encouraging their colleagues to seize the moment.
“If we can pass this with some sense of urgency, then that invites the White House to send more rescission packages up to Capitol Hill,” Congressman Mark Harris (R-NC) Harris told The Daily Wire on Monday. “That&#8217;s the way I&#8217;ve been describing it back in the Eighth District of North Carolina to my people, because they want to see some action, and this is the way we&#8217;re going to see it done.”
The bill, which the Office of Management and Budget <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dei-insect-powder-and-trans-resilience-trump-unveils-woke-spending-cuts-request">sent</a> to Congress in early June, contains many of the cuts that were revealed by Elon Musk’s DOGE initiative. Examples highlighted by the OMB include funding for NPR and PBS, “Being LGBTI in the Caribbean,” and “training women in gender equity.”
The rescissions package also includes cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) program, which OMB reported hid payments for programs like “transgender people, sex workers and their clients and sexual networks” in Nepal, “resilience of lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans gender, intersex, and queer global movements,” and circumcision, vasectomies, and condoms in Zambia.
Senator Susan Collins (R-ME) has spoken out against cutting PEPFAR from the budget, which was intended to assist those affected by HIV and AIDS.
“I want to strike the rescission of funds for PEPFAR, which has an enormous record of success, having saved some 26 million lives over the course of the program, as well as preventing nearly 8 million infants from receiving AIDS from their infected mothers,” Collins <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/5399409-senate-to-vote-on-rescissions-package/">said</a>. “So I can’t imagine why we would want to terminate that program.”
Harris, who voted to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-doge-cuts-targeting-foreign-aid-npr-and-pbs">pass</a> the rescissions package through the House, commented about Collins’ gripes about the bill.
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<div class="p-rich_text_section">Harris said “all of that spending” is a far cry from PEPFAR’s original mission, to combat “the AIDS epidemic in Africa when it first started.”</div>
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“We&#8217;ve got to remember we are $37 trillion in debt,” Harris continued. “We have got to take care of America first. … And if we&#8217;re not maintaining our own economic health — if we&#8217;re not maintaining our own economic future &#8212; we&#8217;re not going to be any good to anybody on any continent.”
Holdout Republican members are not only in the crosshairs of the Senate whips, but of the president as well.
Recently, President Donald Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-warns-republican-senators-defund-npr-and-pbs-or-lose-my-endorsement?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Trump+Warns+Republican+Senators%3A+Defund+NPR+And+PBS+Or+Lose+My+Endorsement">posted</a> about the rescissions package that “any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement.&#8221;
It is unclear how Collins, who is expected to campaign to keep her seat during the midterm elections, would be affected by Trump’s lack of endorsement.
The rescissions package must arrive on Trump’s desk by Friday, or it would expire, causing the payments exposed by DOGE to continue.
“We&#8217;ve all been supportive of the work that DOGE has done, and this has been just the start,&#8221; Harris said. &#8220;It&#8217;s time for us to make sure that we are taking the congressional action that we need to take.”

US-POLITICS-TRUMP-CONGRESS

House Republicans Urge Senate Colleagues To Pass Rescissions Package With ‘Sense Of Urgency’

Congress

U.S. House of Representatives

U.S. Senate

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