In a recent twist to the ongoing $258 billion lawsuit filed by Dogecoin investors against entrepreneur Elon Musk (Johnson v. Musk, 1:22-cv-05037), new court documents implicate several influencers and personalities within the DOGE community, accusing them of generating favorable social media content in exchange for undisclosed benefits.
According to the latest court filing, page 39 alleges, “Former Tesla employees have stated that Tesla has a dedicated team that hunts for negative remarks on social media about Tesla and Musk personally, and pressures those who post such content to delete it.”
The document goes on to name several Twitter accounts, including that of Billy Markus, known by the pseudonym “Shibetoshi Nakamoto,” the co-creator of Dogecoin, as well as other personalities like Dogecoin developer “Mishaboar” (@mishaboar), who are accused of creating exclusively positive content about Musk and Dogecoin.
Other names include DogeDesigner (@cb_doge), Chairman (@WSBChairman), Sir Doge of the Coin (@dogeofficialceo), MyDogeTip (@MyDogeTip); The Under Doge (@TheUnderDoge3), MyDoge Wallet (@MyDogeOfficial) and Alex (@MyDogeCTO), among others. These accounts are alleged to have created an unduly positive narrative around Musk and Dogecoin.
Dogecoin Founder And Community Reacts
Reacting to the allegations, Billy Markus stated, “lel, it also says i’m an associate of elon’s (i’m not), i never post anything negative about dogecoin (completely false, i post negative shit about crypto consistently, it even quoted me earlier posting negative shit, so it’s contradictory), and i am part of the dogecoin foundation (i resigned from my non-role awhile ago).” He questioned the legality of the allegations, asking, “I thought it was illegal to make false statements, isn’t that perjury? Whatever, legal stuff is way beyond my understanding.”
Similarly, Mishaboar took to social media to clarify, “Just in case: no, this account never received any ad revenue from X/Twitter nor will be eligible in a thousand years. And no, this account never received payments nor will ever accept payments for sponsored posting.” He added, “The document also claimed I am one of Elon’s fanboys, which is also completely alien to what I do in my feed.”
The allegations expand the scope of the lawsuit, potentially complicating matters for the named influencers. According to Richard L, who initiated the online conversation with Markus, proving the falsity of the allegations would be on the defendants. He noted, “The defendants will need to prove it’s made up, will see if they get a warrant to take electronic devices, though that would be quite expensive (forensics isn’t cheap).”
Given the high-stakes nature of the lawsuit, the named accounts could face legal scrutiny. The implications for the broader Dogecoin community are as yet unclear, particularly as the case continues to develop. Whether the allegations will lead to any substantive changes in the $258 billion damages sought remains an open question.
At press time, DOGE traded at $0.0625.
Featured image from Cryptured, chart from TradingView.com
