if you just put in my name into the search bar, you know, neo-nazi fed, ben brodie. >> reporter: ben is seeking damages of $1 million, but it's about a lot more than money. >> we have to change how we deal with information, how we spread information, and how we attempt to influence others. >> the fact that this is happening to private people, that's just terrifying. and it's going to happen again unless someone stands up to this guy. >> and donie is here with me now. so, has elon musk commented on this? >> elon musk's lawyer this evening tells us that they expect this case to be dismissed. they have until the 5th of january to make that case essentially to the court where this is filed in texas. look, what is in this lawsuit is page after page after page of ben brodie's lawyer making the case, essentially, that elon musk has this tendency to engage and praise and amplify racists and often times anti-semitic conspiracy theories or engage with accounts that push those tropes as well. obviously that is something we expect that musk's lawyers will contest in court. but as you can see the

ben brody was not there, but online trolls tried to guess who was involved. they found random photos of ben online. >> they said, oh, this person looks like him, he has to be this person, you know, there's no way it's not him. it was just, like, an assumption that went wrong. >> reporter: the person in the video resembled ben, and even though it was not him, they blamed him. they pulled information from his fraternity page and turned it into a lie that he was a federal agent that was infiltrating the group. a so-called false flag operation. >> hey, what's up, guys, my name is ben brody, and i wanted to address the false accusations against me. >> reporter: desperate to clear his name, ben made this video. he even posted timestamped surveillance footage showing him at a store in california at the same time the brawl was happening near portland. but the false claims about ben's involvement continued to spread. even the owner of twitter, now x, elon musk, weighed in, posting to his millions of followers, "looks like one is a college student who wants to join the

>> reporter: ben brodie was at home in riverside, california. >> i started to get text messages fromfriends, you are accused of being a neo-nazi fed, and i said, this is a prank, but it is not. >> reporter: 1,000 miles away in portland, oregon, two extremists had been in a fight while protesting in a pride event, and ben brodie was not there, but they tried to guess who was involved and they found random photos of ben. >> they said, it looks like this person, and there is no way it is him, and it is an assumption that went wrong. >> reporter: the person in the video looked like ben, u even know it was not them, the trolls thought they had found him, and they pulled him from the fraternity page and said after graduation he wants to work for the fed, and they turned that into a lie that he was a federal agent to infiltrate the group. >> i am ben brody and i wanted to clear up the false accusations against me. >> reporter: he even posted time-stamped fvideo showing him at a store at the time of the event. but x posted in saying that one is a college student who wants to join the governm