In an awkward video message, X’s chief executive Linda Yaccarino said that the platform has filed an antitrust lawsuit against international advertising organizations, lately targeted by American right-wing politicians and activists.
In a video, already roasted on social media, Yaccarino said X was suing the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA). She accused them of a “systematic illegal boycott” of the platform.
A Message to X Users pic.twitter.com/6bZOYPhWVa
undefined Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 6, 2024
It’s not exactly clear why X, the supposed bastion of free speech, should be upset at advertisers exercising their own speech by withdrawing ads because they don’t want their brands to appear next to racist or antisemitic posts.
But the legal campaign against advertisers, specifically against GARM, has been going on for months now. The right-wingers are saying that the industry bigwigs colluded to defund conservative media.
GARM is a cross-industry initiative, founded in 2019 by the WFA and designed to prevent brands from supporting harmful content with their ad dollars.
Yaccarino herself cited a July report from the US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee, the majority of which are Republicans, titled “GARM’s Harm.”
“Through GARM, large corporations, advertising agencies, and industry associations participated in boycotts and other coordinated action to demonetize platforms, podcasts, news outlets, and other content deemed disfavored by GARM and its members,” the report (PDF) said.
“This collusion can have the effect of eliminating a variety of content and viewpoints available to consumers.”
The committee said that the advertisers’ alleged collusion is anticompetitive and could violate the Sherman Act, which prescribes the rule of free competition among those engaged in commerce and consequently prohibits unfair monopolies.
The report mentions boycotts of X, Spotify, and Joe Rogan’s podcast, and “candidates, platforms, and news outlets with opposing political news” such as Fox News, The Daily Wire, and Breitbart News (all known for pushing misinformation).
Yaccarino claims that GARM’s “illegal behavior of these organizations and their executives cost X billions of dollars.” Elon Musk, the owner of X, soon also wrote: “We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war.”
We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words.
undefined Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024
Now, it is war. https://t.co/MEzH0vqz0p
Last year, Musk was also even blunter when he said: “If somebody’s going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money? Go f*** yourself. Go. F***. Yourself. Is that clear?”
Let’s just say Elon might have worsened the relationship with the industry himself. Another problem is that GARM and its members – X also joined the initiative in early July, by the way – simply follow their own “brand-safety floor and suitability framework.”
The framework provides common definitions around harmful and sensitive content such as misinformation, pornography, piracy, terrorism, and hate speech in order to understand where ads should not appear. Most such content can be found on X these days.
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