X Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Advertisers It Accuses of Illegal Boycott

X, the company formerly known as Twitter has been trying to bring advertisers back since Elon Musk took over the company in the fall of 2022. These efforts have apparently failed, and Linda Yaccarino, the current CEO of X and a former advertising exec announced a new strategy to improve the company’s advertising revenue: suing advertisers that may have plotted a boycott against the company.

The X CEO penned an open letter to advertisers on X today where she announced a class-action lawsuit against a couple of advertising organizations, as well as big companies like Mars and Unilever. She also published a short video explaining the situation where she can be seen wearing a “Mama Free speech” pendant.

A Message to X Users pic.twitter.com/6bZOYPhWVa

— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) August 6, 2024

In her open letter to advertisers, Yaccarino cited a recent report from the U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee’s revealing that the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) and its members “directly organized boycotts and used other indirect tactics to target disfavored platforms, content creators, and news organizations in an effort to demonetize and, in effect, limit certain choices for consumers.” According to the Yaccarino, X is one of the platforms impacted by this boycott, which cost the company “billions of dollars.”

“This behavior is a stain on a great industry, and cannot be allowed to continue,” Yaccarino said. “That is why, today, X has filed an antitrust lawsuit against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), and GARM members CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever. This is not a decision we took lightly, but it is a direct consequence of their actions.”

On X, Elon Musk added fuel to the fire and said “We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war.” In a follow-up message, the X owner added “I strongly encourage any company who has been systematically boycotted by advertisers to file a lawsuit.”

We tried peace for 2 years, now it is war https://t.co/elgT62uDtF

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) August 6, 2024

It’s quite ironic, especially for a former advertising executive, to join Musk in his crusade against advertisers. The same Musk who recently said in an interview with CNBC that “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.”

There’s little chance that X is going to win back advertisers by suing them and threatening any potential clients. Musk previously admitted that this ad boycott was “going to kill the company,” but he’ll only have himself to blame if this is what ends up happening.