Elon Musk Sues Advertisers for Boycotting X

Elon Musk has sued the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and some of its members, claiming they have deprived X, formerly Twitter, of billions of dollars of advertising.

Musk has brought the antitrust lawsuit against GARM, naming its members CVS, Unilever, Mars, and the Danish energy company Ørsted as co-defendants, claiming the group unlawfully came together to boycott X. He is seeking an undisclosed amount of damages and looking to prevent GARM from making recommendations regarding how its members advertise on X.

In a video posted on the platform, Linda Yaccarino, X CEO, said that “they conspired to boycott X, which threatens our ability to thrive in the future.” X has lost significant advertising revenue since Musk took over the platform, losses that place the company “at long-term risk.”

Musk filed the lawsuit in a Texas court despite none of the involved parties being based there, prompting some to believe he is seeking a sympathetic judge. Judge Reed O’Conner recused himself soon after taking the case following revelations that he invests in Tesla and Unilever, though he provided no official reason for stepping down.

Following the lawsuit, the WFA announced that “GARM is a small, not-for-profit initiative, and recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances. WFA therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue GARM activities.”

This is not the first time Musk has gone after those that he believes have negatively impacted advertising revenues on X. Last year, X Corp sued the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), claiming one of its research publications was false and harmed the platforms’ reputation. A judge threw the case out in March, saying the publication was the CCDH’s protected free speech.

X also sued Media Matters, a non-profit media watchdog, following its publication of a report that observed that “X has been placing ads for Apple, Bravo, IBM, Oracle, and Xfinity next to pro-Nazi content.” That case continues to move through the courts.