A global advertising trade group at the center of a controversy involving the censorship of conservative speech online is “discontinuing” its advertising initiative just days after X owner Elon Musk filed an antitrust lawsuit against it and other companies.
The World Federation of Advertisers is shuttering its Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative, Business Insider reported.
The lawsuit filed Tuesday by the social media site formerly known as Twitter alleged that GARM conspired with others to prevent billions of dollars in advertising revenue from flowing to digital media outlets such as X that didn’t follow the groups’ “brand safety standards,” meaning X under Musk began allowing conservative speech that questioned government and mainstream media narratives.
Unilever PLC, Unilever United States, Mars Incorporated, CVS Health Corporation, and Ørsted A/S also are named as defendants in the lawsuit.
“No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized,” X CEO Linda Yaccarino posted Thursday. “This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming.”
WFA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment. Business Insider reported that GARM “intended to contest the allegations” but had limited resources.
Musk vowed to sue last month after the U.S. House Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the alleged conspiracy where Daily Wire co-founder Ben Shapiro testified.
At the hearing, Shapiro told lawmakers that legacy media and their political allies conspire with online advertising gatekeepers to paint conservative news organizations as “dangerous,” limiting their opportunity to receive advertising revenue.
“There is in fact an internal pressure system created by Democratic legislators, this White House, legacy media, advertisers and pseudo-objective brand safety organizations,” Shapiro testified. “That system guarantees that advertising dollars flow only to left-leaning media brands.”
