Elon Musk's X announced Friday that he had reached a settlement with social media company Unilever in a sweeping federal antitrust lawsuit against the left-wing advertising cartel and several companies accused of organizing an advertising boycott.
An antitrust lawsuit filed in August in federal court in Texas accused the leftist Global Alliance for Responsible Media – the now-defunct nonprofit arm of the powerful World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) – of illegally colluding with Unilever and several corporate advertisers to boycott X over its alleged failure to comply with brand safety standards.
A spokesman for X said the company's claims against Unilever had been “resolved” and the company was no longer a defendant in the lawsuit. Unilever, which owns Ben & Jerry's, Dove, Hellman's and many other consumer goods companies, plans to resume advertising for its brands on the X, according to a spokesman.
“X is pleased to have reached an agreement with Unilever and continue to collaborate with them on the platform,” X said in a statement. “Today's news is the first part of an ecosystem-wide solution, and we look forward to further solutions across the industry.”
The lawsuit initially named Unilever as a defendant alongside GARM, its parent company WFA, CVS Health, Mars and Orsted. The boycott cost X” billions of dollars in advertising revenue, according to the suit.
X “continues to pursue its antitrust claims against the remaining defendants,” the spokesman added.
Further details about the settlement with Unilever were not immediately available.
“Unilever has reached an agreement with Company X, which is committed to our accountability standards to ensure the safety and operation of our brands on the platform,” a Unilever spokesman said in a statement. “We cannot comment on the terms of the contract.”
GARM initially came under public scrutiny in July after the release of a damning report by the House Judiciary Committee. GARM and its members were accused of coordinating efforts to suppress free speech online and restricting advertising to multiple news outlets, including The Post.
WFA shut down the GARM initiative in August, citing its nonprofit status with limited resources and costs of mounting a legal defense against Musk. X demands triple damages and punitive damages against the defendants.
According to the WFA website, WFA members include many of the world's largest companies, including Disney, Coca-Cola and Adidas, which together control 90% of global marketing spending. Its management denies any irregularities.
In an Aug. 13 interview with The Post, X chief executive Linda Yaccarino described the lawsuit as a key step toward fixing what she described as a “broken” digital advertising ecosystem.
“We have become victims of a small group of people pushing for our power or ability to monopolize what is for monetization,” Yaccarino said. “GARM was just a symptom, but (finding) the root cause of damage to the entire ecosystem is what this suit is about.”
The report by the GOP-led House Judiciary Committee detailed alleged efforts by GARM and its leftist director Robert Rakowitz to suppress the flow of ad dollars to various media outlets, including the Daily Wire, Fox News, comedian Joe Rogan's podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience ” ” and others who were accused of spreading disinformation.
In one email detailed in the report, Rakowitz appeared to boast that X was “80% below projected revenue” because GARM targeted Musk over brand safety issues.
Rakowitz said the email was intended as an “apparent joke.”
The House committee's investigation focused on whether GARM, WFA and their members violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which regulates illegal restraint of trade.
The Commission also sent letters to over 40 companies to provide information and secure documents related to its dealings with GARM.
Companies that received letters included Adidas, American Express, Bayer, BP, Carhartt, Chanel, CVS and General Motors.
