Elon Musk's social media platform X has been ordered by the High Court in Dublin to pay legal costs related to British left-wing politician George Galloway's defamation suit. Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Galloway's account was labeled as 'Russian state-affiliated media'. In protest, he filed a defamation case against X (formerly of Twitter). In the lawsuit, he said, his political views have been unfairly characterized, which has caused him to lose his reputation.
Galloway says Twitter's labeling process is like the new McCarthyism (labelling people unfairly and because of specific political ideologies), which has hurt its popularity. The lawsuit was filed before Elon Musk bought X. Currently X has removed the Russia Media label from all accounts. However, the accounts of Russian state-backed media 'Russia Today' (RT) and other Russian media platforms have been banned in the UK and EU. Notably, Galloway hosted a program on Russian channels RT and Sputnik.
X is now obligated to pay legal costs related to Galloway's defamation suit after failing to present a defense argument for two years after the suit was filed. Both parties have been asked to submit a written affidavit to the court by January 30.
Galloway's lawyer, Kevin Winters, said the case was a major challenge for social media platforms. Especially when they assign responsibility for past actions and this becomes more complicated in the context of policy changes and leadership changes.
Galloway's talk show currently airs on other platforms including YouTube.
References: The Telegraph
