The largest media group on the island of Ireland has sued Elon Musk’s X over the proliferation of scam advertisements designed to look like genuine news articles on the social media platform.
Mediahuis Ireland, which publishes titles including the Belfast Telegraph, Sunday Life and Irish Independent, issued proceedings alleging its trademarks and copyrights were infringed and trust in its publications risks being undermined by fake articles posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
The complaint relates to advertisements containing links to fictitious articles bearing the Irish Independent’s logo and the byline of one of its journalists.
The articles include a piece claiming Tánaiste Simon Harris is being sued by Bank of Ireland for comments made during a live broadcast.
Another fake article makes similar false claims in relation to Green Party leader Roderic O’Gorman.
Public Expenditure Minister Jack Chambers has also featured in similar scam advertisements.
In High Court proceedings initiated against Twitter International Unlimited Company (TIUC) yesterday, the publisher is seeking orders to compel X to remove or disable access to all advertisements that infringe on its copyright and link to false Irish Independent news articles.
These ads are harmful to the public and they risk damaging the trust and integrity of the ‘Irish Independent’
While X recently suspended nine user accounts for violation of its financial scam policy following complaints from Mediahuis Ireland, the media group claims the social media platform has been unable or unwilling to take proper or sufficient action to address the issue.
It says the matter is compounded by the promotion of the posts on the platform, with the fake advertisements being shared by “verified” users and published as bona fide advertisements.
The media group has complained the advertisements clearly seek to exploit the reputation of the Irish Independent, and third parties referred to in them, to fraudulently mislead the public into investing in a cryptocurrency scheme.
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In a statement, Mediahuis Ireland said it had been forced to initiate the proceedings due to what it claimed was X’s repeated refusal to take proper measures to prevent the publication and promotion of fake advertisements by users of its platform.
“These ads are deliberately targeting members of the public for financial fraud. In doing so they are using the reputation and brand recognition of the Irish Independent, often including well-known public figures, to gain attention,” the statement said.
“These ads are harmful to the public and they risk damaging the trust and integrity of the Irish Independent that has been hard won through more than 100 years of commitment and diligence from its journalists and employees.”
The Competition and Consumer Protection Commission is a notice party in the case, due to the consumer protection issues involved.
TIUC, via its lawyers, has rejected the allegation that it is unable or unwilling to tackle fraudulent advertisements. It claims to have acted diligently and expeditiously in response to reports about such content.
The publisher wants proposed advertisements … to be subject to pre-publication review conducted by human reviewers
Among orders sought by Mediahuis Ireland is one requiring TIUC to implement effective technical measures, including image banking, keyword filtering and algorithmic amendments, to detect and prevent publication of ads that infringe on copyright, link to fake articles and misappropriate the goodwill enjoyed by the brand.
The publisher wants proposed advertisements or promoted posts to be subject to pre-publication review conducted by human reviewers trained to identify unlawful content if red flags are raised by the technical measures sought.
It is also seeking an order requiring TIUC to implement appropriate and effective measures to verify the identities and payment method of individuals who place advertisements or promoted posts through the X Ads service.
A further order is sought requiring TIUC to provide Mediahuis Ireland with information identifying the people who placed the scam advertisements.
A declaration is being sought that TIUC has, in its operation or control of X, infringed on Mediahuis Ireland’s EU trademarks.
A further declaration is sought that TIUC had knowledge of illegal activity or content on X and failed, refused or neglected to act expeditiously to remove or disable access to this content.