A globalist pro-censorship organization has shut down in response to an antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s social media app X and the free speech video platform Rumble.
Who is GARM? pic.twitter.com/aowkt2K2lI
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) July 10, 2024
The World Federation of Advertisers’ (WFA) pro-censorship initiative, known as the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), has been shut down after X and Rumble filed a lawsuit accusing the group of persuading top brands to pull advertising from pro-free speech platforms and conservative companies. According to X, GARM specifically coordinated an advertiser boycott after Musk took over the platform in 2022 — causing the company to face a substantial decline in advertising revenue.
🔥🚨BREAKING NEWS: X CEO Linda Yaccarino just revealed how a group of advertisers plotted against X with threats and boycotts.
Yaccarino announced that X, has filed an antitrust lawsuit today against GARM and the World Federation of Advertisers, accusing them of conspiring to… pic.twitter.com/UUUVkMmVVQ
— Dom Lucre | Breaker of Narratives (@dom_lucre) August 6, 2024
Rumble CEO Chris Pavlovski joined the lawsuit, accusing GARM of being a “monopoly” that “discriminates” against certain voices.
BREAKING: Rumble CEO explains how groups like GARM & World Federation of Advertisers created a monopoly over all the major ad budgets.
Rumble has joined 𝕏 in suing these groups who conspired to block ad revenue from going to certain platforms and content creators. pic.twitter.com/HEHeBkRymi
— DogeDesigner (@cb_doge) August 7, 2024
GARM has been repeatedly caught organizing advertising blacklists designed to censor conservatives’ speech. The initiative reportedly controls roughly 90% of global ad spending, meaning that its advocacy for advertisers to boycott conservatives and free speech platforms has deprived them of significant amounts of ad revenue.
The suit alleges that WFA and GARM conspired with dozens of advertisers and others, to collectively withhold billions of dollars in advertising revenue from X. The suit argues that’s that the boycott enacted was an attempt to force Twitter to adhere to certain brand safety… pic.twitter.com/6XgnG34FeD
— Tracy Beanz (@tracybeanz) August 6, 2024
WFA CEO Stephan Loerke announced the decision to shut down GARM in an email to members on Thursday, writing that the decision was “not made lightly.” According to Business Insider, which obtained the email, the pro-censorship organization was shut down in response to the lawsuit because it “is a not-for-profit organization with limited resources.”
This news also comes after the House Judiciary Committee initiated an investigation into the ramifications of GARM’s actions on the advertising market. In a report released last month, the committee confirmed that it had uncovered blatant political bias within GARM’s leadership, which was used to control online speech.
One piece of evidence cited in the report is an email from GARM co-founder Rob Rakowitz, who complained about people daring to advocate “for freedom of speech online,” and whined about “extreme global interpretation of the US Constitution.”
Rakowitz also previously attacked the U.S. Constitution because it was written “by white men exclusively.”
The report exposes the bias of Rob Rakowitz, GARM’s leader and co-founder, who in one email complains about people “advocating for freedom of speech online,” and about “extreme global interpretation of the US Constitution,” which Rakowitz says was written “by white men… pic.twitter.com/jMOiTGYECs
— Ben Shapiro (@benshapiro) July 10, 2024
The Judiciary Committee celebrated the victory in a post on X, writing: “Big win for the First Amendment. Big win for oversight.”
#BREAKING: The “Global Alliance for Responsible Media” is discontinuing.
Big win for the First Amendment.
Big win for oversight.
— House Judiciary GOP 🇺🇸🇺🇸🇺🇸 (@JudiciaryGOP) August 8, 2024
Other social media users celebrated the victory as well, including The Quartering, who is a strong proponent of Rumble because of its commitment to free speech.
“I am impressed with the work @chrispavlovski has done to protect free speech & am extremely proud to be a creator on @rumblevideo. The collaboration between @elonmusk & @rumblevideo brought the biggest free speech win in a very long time,” he wrote.
I am impressed with the work @chrispavlovski has done to protect free speech & am extremely proud to be a creator on @rumblevideo
The collaboration between @elonmusk & @rumblevideo brought the biggest free speech win in a very long time
Download BOTH apps! Support free speech https://t.co/BK1r2iJ59Z
— TheQuartering (@TheQuartering) August 8, 2024
Meanwhile, other users are concerned about GARM suddenly shutting down, arguing that the decision was made in order to hide what is truly going on behind the scenes and alleging that the group will soon begin to destroy evidence in order to avoid responsibility.
The Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, is shutting down after X and Rumble filed a massive antitrust lawsuit against it.
They are likely going to destroy evidence and strip GARM of any assets it has in an effort to avoid responsibility. pic.twitter.com/fD4H0mEhSH
— Wall Street Silver (@WallStreetSilv) August 8, 2024
