The electric car company founded by former Gov. Terry McAuliffe filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week, blaming in part a wave of negative coverage by a conservative news website for its financial woes.GreenTech Automotive’s bankruptcy petition cites 76 articles by the website Watchdog.orgit says “negatively affected governmental, investor and public perception of GreenTech” and prompted investigations by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Department of Homeland Security.GreenTech in 2013 sued Watchdog.org, operated by the Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity, for $85 million. A judge dismissed the case in 2014.

McAuliffe resigned from GreenTech in late 2012 during his run for governor. Early in the campaign, he featured the company prominently, pitching himself as a forward-thinking entrepreneur.