Global Alliance for Responsible Media Shuts Down After Elon Musk’s X Lawsuit Against Advertisers

The advertising group Global Alliance for Responsible Media is being shut down, following Elon Musk‘s lawsuit filed against sponsors for bailing out on the social media platform.

Earlier this week, Musk’s X filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers, which launched GARM, as well as individual companies Mars, CVS, Unilever and Orsted, a Danish clean energy firm.

“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,” the group said in a statement. “WFA therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue GARM activities.”

Musk claimed that the advertisers violated antitrust laws as sponsors pulled their spots from X, out of concern that their brands were appearing next to racist and antisemitic posts. As the sponsors bailed one after the other in 2023, Musk at one point told the advertisers to “go f— yourself.”

“This is an antitrust action relating to a group boycott by competing advertisers of one of the most popular social media platforms in the United States,” X’s suit said. “GARM’s members “did, abruptly and in lockstep, boycott Twitter by discontinuing entirely or substantially reducing their previously substantial advertising purchases,” calling it a conspiracy and collusion.

But in its statement, GARM said that has “enhanced transparency in ad placements on digital social media by providing voluntary and pro-competitive tools for the advertising industry.” It was launched in 2019 in the wake of the Christchurch New Zealand Mosque shootings, when the killer livestreamed the attack on Facebook.

“This followed a slew of high-profile cases where brands’ ads appeared next to illegal or harmful content, such as promoting terrorism or child pornography – creating both consumer and reputational issues for brands,” the group said.