Media Matters has secured a complete and total victory in its case against the Federal Trade Commission (Media Matters v. FTC). For more details, click here.
“You have to fight, not fold”: Angelo Carusone discusses Media Matters' victory against the Federal Trade Commission
Carusone: “They hope everybody folds because the process is the punishment, and that paves the way for them to do it to more people and exert power, especially over the media”
Published
Updated
Video file
Citation
From the May 4, 2026, edition of MS NOW's The Weeknight
ALICIA MENENDEZ (CO-HOST): That illustrates your point. I want to make sure that we get to a really important story, and that has to do with you and your organization, Media Matters. You've secured a complete and total victory against the FTC.
I think you sit here with us a lot at this table. We talk about retribution. You yourself now have the experience of what it is like to have yourself as an individual, as an organization deal with this.
The FTC withdrew its appeal of the preliminary injunction awarded to Media Matters to halt the FTC's retaliatory investigations. The FTC issued a broad civil investigative demand to Media Matters on May 25, demanding information on a wide variety of expressive matters, including information about newsgathering and editorial decisions, programs, policies and objectives, financial material, and much more.
What is the lesson you have learned coming out of this?
ANGELO CARUSONE (PRESIDENT, MEDIA MATTERS): Fight, not fold.
Because at the time that they were doing that, just like we see with the FCC and these other administrative agencies, they issue these broad attacks, these broad demands. They hope everybody folds because the process is the punishment, and that paves the way for them to do it to more people and exert power, especially over the media.
And they were — they issued against some big companies around the same time, but they all folded. And we didn't. And we sued. We got an injunction. We continued to stiffen our spines and fight this out. And we not only secured it by them withdrawing it, but then we got additional protections to make sure that they couldn't just turn around and reissue it to us. And that is the lesson and the takeaway.
So you have to know their playbook, and you have to fight, not fold.