Elon Musk and his company X, formerly known as Twitter, have filed a lawsuit against several leading advertisers, accusing them of participating in an illegal boycott that has purportedly cost the social media platform billions. This lawsuit follows a revealing House Judiciary Committee report that highlighted the alleged actions of the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its subsidiary, the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM).
The report, titled “GARM’s Harm,” claims that the WFA, which controls an overwhelming 90% of global marketing spending, orchestrated a boycott against X. This influential group represents some of the biggest companies worldwide, such as Disney and Coca-Cola, and their coordinated efforts have reportedly inflicted substantial financial harm on X.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino announced the legal action in a post on X, expressing her shock at the report’s revelations. “I thought I had seen everything,” she remarked. “The illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars.” Yaccarino stressed that this lawsuit was a necessary response to the severe financial impact caused by the alleged boycott.
Elon Musk shared Yaccarino’s announcement with a definitive statement: “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.” This declaration indicates Musk’s resolve to address the situation aggressively.
The lawsuit names CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, Unilever, GARM, and the WFA as defendants. According to the House report, GARM and its members organized boycotts and used other tactics to demonetize and limit the reach of specific platforms and content creators.
BlazeTV’s James Poulos weighed in on the conflict, suggesting that the actions of these advertisers reflect a broader ideological struggle. “Rather than mild-mannered normies afraid of controversial content on X, advertisers operate as a cartel of far-left propagandists, reaping profits from taxpayers on government contracts while conspiring to silence free speech at odds with their radical ideologies,” Poulos stated.
The report also uncovered internal emails from GARM head Robert Rakowitz, who allegedly bragged about X’s revenue being “80% below forecasts” due to the boycott. Rakowitz later claimed this was a “self-effacing joke.”
As the lawsuit unfolds, it will likely draw significant attention to the ongoing tension between tech platforms and the advertising industry. The outcome could have far-reaching implications for the regulation of corporate influence and the future of digital advertising.
