U of W professor sues Meta, X over alleged defamation campaign

A Manitoba professor is hoping an unusual legal move will help unmask alleged cyberbullies.

A University of Winnipeg professor is taking Meta Platforms Inc. and X Corp. to court in a bid to unmask the person or persons behind a series of social media accounts he says were created to defame, harass, and humiliate him.

Matthew Flisfeder, a professor of rhetoric and communications, filed a statement of claim in Manitoba’s Court of King’s Bench on May 27, naming both platforms alongside anonymous defendants identified only as John Doe and Jane Doe.

Court documents allege that between June and December of 2025, at least seven Instagram accounts and one X account—all bearing Flisfeder’s name and photograph without his consent—were created and operated by one or more unknown individuals.

The filing alleges the accounts contained fabricated statements, vulgar impersonations, and digitally manipulated videos in which Flisfeder’s face was superimposed onto another person’s body, purportedly depicting him making statements he never made.

“The content of these publications conveyed, among other things, that the plaintiff engages in the sexual harassment of students, is professionally incompetent, holds extreme political views, and is a source of shame to his family,” the statement of claim reads.

In a supporting affidavit, Flisfeder describes the allegations as “entirely false” and says many of the posts—screenshots of which have been filed as exhibits—are antisemitic in nature.

“The false accusations that I sexually harass students are among the most damaging allegations that can be levelled against a person in a position of academic authority,” the filing states. “These accusations, if believed, would be career-ending.”

The affidavit claims that students, colleagues, and others have viewed the accounts and their content, and that Flisfeder has faced questioning as a direct result. The filing says the publications have caused “severe and ongoing harm” to his personal and professional reputation and describes the actions as a “campaign of harassment and defamation.”

It says Flisfeder reported the accounts to both Meta and X through their respective formal reporting processes upon discovering them, citing violations of each platform’s policies on impersonation, harassment, and bullying. Neither company, he says, disclosed any identifying information about the account holders.

Most of the accounts had been deleted by the time of filing, it says, apart from one Instagram account.

“I have exhausted all reasonable avenues available to me to obtain the identity of Doe through the social media platforms’ own processes,” Flisfeder states in his affidavit. “Without a court order, I have no means of compelling Meta or X to disclose the information I require.”

A notice of motion filed alongside the claim seeks a court order compelling both companies to provide identifying information tied to the account holder or holders, including names, email addresses or phone numbers, and IP addresses used at registration and during recent logins.

Legal counsel for Flisfeder describes the disclosure sought as “narrow, proportionate, and necessary to the administration of justice” in a motion brief filed with the court.

The statement of claim also seeks a permanent injunction requiring the removal of the defamatory content, an injunction restraining the defendants from publishing or facilitating the publication of further defamatory material, and an unspecified amount in damages.

Legal counsel for Flisfeder declined to comment, as the matter is before the courts.

None of the allegations have been tested in court, and no statement of defence has been filed.