A group of advertisers, called the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), have “discontinued” activities, Business Insider reports, citing an email sent to members. The group said it had limited money, and was focused on fighting the antitrust lawsuit filed against it by X.
GARM was an initiative formed in 2019 by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA); the idea was to stop advertising on social media platforms that don’t meet certain safety standards. In its lawsuit, X said that GARM “organized an advertiser boycott of Twitter.”
The lawsuit from the platform formerly known as Twitter was one of several odd legal actions coming from Elon Musk — ones that seem more focused on punishing anyone who doesn’t agree with him than based on any coherent legal theory. Musk has also sued OpenAI, a competitor to his X.AI, and Media Matters, to try to silence the non-profit.
Freedom of association is generally recognized as guaranteed by the First Amendment, and there’s precedent showing that boycotts are protected speech. But that’s not all that makes the GARM case odd. Musk himself has made comments that are hostile to advertisers. Last November, in an interview with Andrew Ross Sorkin, Musk said, “I hope they stop. Don’t advertise.”
He added, “If somebody is going to try to blackmail me with advertising, blackmail me with money, go fuck yourself. Go fuck yourself. Is that clear? I hope it is.”
When Musk bought Twitter, most of its revenue came from advertising — and that money dried up with his takeover. Perhaps the advertisers felt skittish about Musk’s “anything goes” approach to moderation — or perhaps it was Musk’s own posts, including one about “white pride.”
Source: https://www.theverge.com/2024/8/8/24216202/garm-x-twitter-musk-advertising