Musk’s free speech agenda has also clashed with brands’ desire to distance themselves from problematic content. Meanwhile, his posts—which have ranged from alleged endorsements of antisemitic conspiracy theories to describing DEI as “another word for racism”—have also given buyers jitters.
In August 2024, tensions came to a head when X CEO Linda Yaccarino published a video announcing X was taking legal against GARM and its members.
“We tried for peace for two years, now it’s war,” wrote Musk as he shared the video.
We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024
Last November, data showed that some of X’s former top advertisers, including Comcast, IBM, Disney, Warner Bros. Discovery, and Lionsgate Entertainment, resumed ad spending on the platform in 2024, albeit at much lower rates than before.
GARM was founded in 2019 to help the industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization through advertising.
A few days after X brought the lawsuit, GARM announced it was shutting down.
The trade body wrote: “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. GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities.”
