The World Federation of Advertisers on Friday discontinued its Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative, also known as GARM, days after Elon Musk's X filed a lawsuit that claimed the group illegally conspired to boycott advertising on his platform.
“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 on Friday. “GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities.”
GARM is a voluntary ad-industry initiative run by the World Federation of Advertisers that aims to help brands avoid having their advertisements appear alongside illegal or harmful content. GARM confirmed that it is still planning to defend itself in court against the lawsuit.
The shut down of GARM marks a temporary victory for Musk and X CEO Linda Yaccarino, even though the judgement has not been passed yet in the court.
“No small group should be able to monopolise what gets monetised. This is an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction. I am hopeful that it means ecosystem-wide reform is coming,” CEO Yaccarino posted on X Thursday.
GARM has over 100 members. Four of those members—CCVS, Unilever, Mars, and the Danish energy company Ørsted were named defendants in the suit filed in federal court in Texas Tuesday.
GARM was set up in 2019 after the Christchurch New Zealand mosque shootings, where the murderer live-streamed the shooting on Facebook. Following that, brands’ faced issues where their ads were placed next to illegal or harmful content, the group said in a statement. GARM said its group reduced such ads from 6.1 per cent in 2020 to 1.7 per cent in 2023.
Brands raised similar concerns when Musk acquired X in 2022, tanking the platform’s core ad business. Many brands have pulled their spending over concerns that their ads might run alongside misinformation or hate speech, which Musk himself has occasionally promoted. The suit also continues Musk’s habit of feuding with the advertisers whose money he relies on.
Though at times X leaders hinted the company’s ad business was improving, Yaccarino in a video Monday said, “They conspired to boycott X, which threatens our ability to thrive in the future,” she said of the GARM members, adding that the loss in advertising dollars placed the company “at long-term risk.”
The end of GARM could raise concerns for other media watchdogs, although the judgement came in favour of non-profits in the past.
