Two years ago, a group called Media Matters produced a report showing how far right messages on Twitter were appearing next to adverts for big corporations such as Apple, IBM and so on.
Stalwart defender of free speech Elon Musk immediately sued. At the same time, he released an explanation of what happened and how. It seems his motivation was to show that this chain of events was so unlikely, Media Matters was wrong to make the claim. All he did was confirm the original claims. There should be no grounds for legal action, but Musk has continued to harass the group ever since.
Media Matters is now being investigated by the Federal Trade Commission for breaching federal regulations. The FTC itself is controlled by Republicans, following the dismissal of Democrat commissioners by the president earlier this year. It is the latest government agency to be turned against opponents who dare to question the rulers.
Kristie Noem escalated her ongoing war with Harvard last week by revoking its ability to enrol foreign students. She said that all 6800 foreign students will need to find another university. All sorts of paranoid rubbish about Harvard enabling terrorism and antisemitism. Usual authoritarian lies.
Harvard quickly got an injunction to overturn this abuse of government power. This was so fast, they had evidently prepared for a predictable attack. Additionally, they have announced free online courses so people can learn about the US government, civic politics, and constitutional matters. They are not powerless.