X and Rumble File Antitrust Lawsuit Against Ad Industry Groups Over Billions Lost in Illegal Boycott

Aug 6, 2024, 03:50 PM

X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, has filed a federal antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and several major brands including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever. The lawsuit alleges that these organizations conspired to orchestrate an illegal boycott against X, abusing their influence over marketers and ad agencies to unfairly discriminate against the platform. This boycott has reportedly cost X billions of dollars in advertising revenue. The announcement was made by X CEO Linda Yaccarino, who described the actions of GARM and its allies as a systematic attack on free speech. Additionally, Rumble has joined X in the lawsuit, which also targets WPP and its subsidiary GroupM.