X is dragging a global alliance of advertisers to court, accusing them of mob-like behavior. The advertising industry, of course, finds this beef utterly ungrounded.
But in typical X fashion, it went completely off-script. There was no press release from corporate comms, no statement on social media. Instead, they announced the lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) — including its members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, Unilever, and the trade body behind it, the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) — with a hostage-esque video featuring CEO Linda Yacarrino explaining why it had come to this.
This federal lawsuit, filed Tuesday August 6, is arguably the wildest twist in the ongoing standoff between the controversial billionaire and advertisers since Elon Musk acquired X (formerly Twitter) nearly two years ago. Musk’s response to this impasse? Sue the advertisers for not buying ads, hoping to force their hand. Because nothing says “please advertise with us” quite like a hefty lawsuit.
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