Email: the World Federation of Advertisers discontinues activities of its nonprofit, GARM, following X's antitrust lawsuit, but intends to contest X's claims
what's next for advertisers looking for controls Vish Gain / Silicon Republic : Not-for-profit ad group GARM shuts down after X lawsuit Seb Joseph / Digiday : Elon Musk's lawsuit shatters GARM, revealing industry's fracture and fear Andrew Hutchinson / Social Media Today : Ad Advisory Group Suspends Activity Following Legal Action from X James Farrell / SiliconANGLE : Advertising coalition disbands after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X Ananya Gairola / Benzinga : Elon Musk-led X's Latest Lawsuit Forces Global Alliance For Responsible Media To Suspend Operations: Report Kari Paul / The Guardian : Advertisers axe corporate responsibility scheme after lawsuit from Musk's X Seamus Webster / Fortune : The ‘ad cartel’ Elon Musk accused of collusion is shutting down rather than fight X's lawsuit Cindy Harper / Reclaim The Net : X and Rumble's Lawsuit Topples Alleged Censorship Cartel Kyle O'Brien / Adweek : WFA Is Shutting Down GARM After X Lawsuit Lucas Ropek / Gizmodo : Elon Musk Sued an Ad Group for F*cking Off Too Well, Now It's ‘Discontinuing’ Operations Whizy Kim / Vox : Advertisers aren't buying what X is selling. Is that a crime? Jonathan Vanian / CNBC : Advertising group suspends brand safety unit after Elon Musk's antitrust lawsuit Thomas Barrabi / New York Post : Shadowy ad cabal GARM shuts down after Elon Musk's X files antitrust suit over censorship Elizabeth Lopatto / The Verge : Ad group sued by Elon Musk reportedly disbands Karissa Bell / Engadget : One of the ad industry groups being sued by X is ‘discontinuing’ William Gavin / Quartz : GARM, the so-called ‘advertising cartel’ sued by Elon Musk's X and Rumble, is shutting down Max Hauptman / USA Today : ‘It is war’: Elon Musk's X sues ad industry group over ‘boycott’ of Twitter replacement Fraser Brown / PC Gamer : ‘Now it is war’: Elon Musk and Twitter accuse an advertising alliance, which includes EA and Twitch, of conspiring against the platform and breaking US antitrust law Threads: Kate Conger / @kateaconger : uh, wild update: GARM is gone https://www.nytimes.com/... Kara Swisher / @karaswisher : Bully bullies. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... Karl Bode / @kbode : I'm glad we're finally calling this what it is now a year or so ago the right wing was pretending it was “antitrust reform” and the press was largely buying it Renee DiResta / @renee.diresta : I hope some lawyer is going to say this is a legal tactic otherwise what a mortifying capitulation David Chen / @davechensky : Well, this fucking sucks. Elon Musk sued GARM for recommending advertisers not give money to X. Now GARM is shutting down. “GARM was formed after a video of the 2019 mass shooting in Christchurch, New Zealand, was livestreamed on Facebook. … Rachel Gilmore / @r.gilmore : The Ben Shapiros of it all are framing this as a “victory.” But, um, if your business model can't survive without bullying advertisers into giving you money they don't want to give you, I feel like that's a YOU problem my dude! Claire Atkin / @catthekin : This is what is happening, in no particular order: A) a bunch of European advertisers don't want to deal with the Texas legal system B) they don't want to deal with Elon C) they don't want to have their brand safety decisions aired out in public no matter what they are There are no winners here. … Ryan Mac / @mac_ryan_ : And hopefully this puts to bed the idea that the organization was some kind of powerful “cabal” with the ability to crush orgs. It was a nonprofit coalition of major brands that gave recommendations. And it publicly folded at the first sign of conflict from a threat made by the richest person on earth. Ryan Mac / @mac_ryan_ : Musk and X will parade this as a major victory for “free speech,” but we shouldn't forget how/why GARM was formed: to hold social platforms like Twitter and Facebook accountable after they were used to spread a 2019 video of a white nationalist's massacre of 51 people in Christchurch. … Casey Newton / @crumbler : This is X (and Jim Jordan)'s version of “free speech”: bullying organizations out of existence for choosing not to associate with violence and hate speech https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... Dave Lee / @daveleebbg : A @lara1lara2lara3lara4 scoop - the ad trade body sued by Musk this week is shutting down. He's got what he wanted — a silenced critic — but those ad dollars are not returning. https://www.businessinsider.com/ ... Mastodon: Jeff Jarvis / @jeffjarvis@mastodon.social : Mr Free Speech. Oh, yeah. — Advertising Coalition Shuts Down After X, Owned by Elon Musk, Sues https://www.nytimes.com/... X: Linda Yaccarino / @lindayax : No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized. This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming. Claire Atkin / @catthekin : Advertisers know a bad business partner when they see one. The reality is today's decision means even more advertisers will flee X, and quickly so they're not targeted in the future. Florian Mueller / @florian4gamers : If anyone thought that X's lawsuit against the organizers of and participants in a group boycott was 100% meritless, this shows that apparently the defendants now consider that activity too risky. LinkedIn: Marc Zander : What sad news — GARM has done a great job over the last few years and I ( like many others) would like to thank them for all their hard work. … Sarah Kay Wiley : Using courts to bully and intimidate is straight out of the authoritarian playbook - especially when it concerns free expression and choice. … Michael Follett : Here's a well researched and well sourced article from a well respected news outlet about how Elon Musk's ludicrous lawsuit against WFA's Global Alliance for Responsible Media has led to its closure. … Arielle Garcia : WFA's decision to shut down GARM is horrible news for advertisers, and for the communities they serve. … Ruben Schreurs : This is a major setback for global progress towards a more responsible media industry. — Very sad news, but I understand the difficult decision made by the WFA. … Forums: r/law : Advertising Coalition Shuts Down After X Sues The Global Alliance for Responsible Media r/stupidpol : Influential advertising coalition to shut down after being sued by Elon Musk r/elonmusk : Ad industry initiative abruptly shuts down after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X r/law : Advertising Coalition Shuts Down After X, Owned by Elon Musk, Sues - “This decision was not made lightly, but GARM is a not-for-profit organization, and its resources are limited” r/Twitter : Advertising Coalition Shuts Down After X, Owned by Elon Musk, Sues | The Global Alliance for Responsible Media will dissolve after Mr. Musk accused the group of orchestrating a boycott. r/EnoughMuskSpam : Advertising Coalition Shuts Down After X, Owned by Elon Musk, Sues | The Global Alliance for Responsible Media will dissolve after Mr. Musk accused the group of orchestrating a boycott. Ars OpenForum : Ad industry initiative abruptly shuts down after lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's X See also Mediagazer