A federal judge has blocked the Federal Trade Commission from continuing its investigation into Media Matters for America, finding the agency’s probe likely violates the watchdog group’s First Amendment rights. In a ruling issued Friday, U.S. District Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan granted a preliminary injunction that halts the FTC’s civil-investigative demands aimed at determining whether Media Matters colluded with advertising and advocacy groups to pressure companies to abandon X, the social-media platform owned by Elon Musk. Sooknanan wrote that the FTC action appears to be “a straightforward First Amendment violation” and “a retaliatory act” tied to the group’s criticism of a Trump supporter. The judge added that allowing the investigation to proceed would chill other journalists and advocacy organizations “from engaging in constitutionally protected public debate.” The FTC opened the inquiry in May 2025 after Musk sued Media Matters, accusing it of manipulating research to suggest that major brands’ ads appeared next to extremist content on X. While the injunction stops the federal investigation, Musk’s lawsuits against the nonprofit remain active, and similar state-level probes have already been curtailed by courts in Texas and Missouri.