The left-leaning advertising cabal accused of conspiring to suppress conservative outlets was reportedly disbanded Thursday – just days after Elon Musk’s X slapped the group with a federal antitrust lawsuit.
The World Federation of Advertisers, which organized the Global Alliance for Responsible Media initiative, informed its members that GARM was “discontinuing” activities, according to an email obtained by Business Insider.
WFA CEO Stephen Loerke said in his email the decision to shutter GARM was “not made lightly,” and cited the initiative’s status as a nonprofit with limited resources.
GARM came under fire last month after a damning House Judiciary Committee alleged its radical executive Robert Rakowitz coordinated a campaign to stifle free speech and restrict ads to a slew of news outlets and online platforms, including The Post.
In its bombshell lawsuit earlier this week, X accused GARM and WFA of organizing an illegal ad boycott that cost the social media platform “billions of dollars in advertising revenue.”
Aside from GARM and WFA, a handful of major companies — CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever – were named as defendants. X is seeking trebled compensatory damages and injunctive relief.
The WFA’s membership includes dozens of the world’s largest companies, including Disney, Coca-Cola and Adidas, that collectively control 90% of global marketing spending, according to its website.
X CEO Linda Yaccarino said GARM’s shutdown was “an important acknowledgement and a necessary step in the right direction.”
“No small group should be able to monopolize what gets monetized,” she added in her post to the social media site.
Loerke said in the email that WFA and GARM would still fight X’s lawsuit in Texas federal court and expressed confidence that the outcome would “demonstrate our full adherence to competition rules in all our activities.”
When reached for comment, a WFA spokesperson said the group would share a statement on its decision “shortly.”
In an interview with The Post, House Judiciary Chairman Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) called GARM’s demise “great news for freedom, free markets, First Amendment, all the good things that make America special.”
Jordan said the committee’s investigation is ongoing and remains focused on potential antitrust violations.
“The World Federation of Advertisers, we think, has the same bias,” Jordan said. “Our investigation is looking at all of that. It’s all about stopping the censorship however it’s done.”
As The Post reported last week, the House Judiciary Committee sent out letters to more than 40 companies to provide information and preserve documents related to the inquiry.
Adidas, American Express, Bayer, BP, Carhartt, Chanel, CVS and General Motors were among the companies that received letters.
Separately, at least two Republican state attorneys general are known to be examining evidence surfaced by the House and weighing possible legal action.
Rakowitz actions have drawn heavy scrutiny in the House Judiciary Committee’s investigation.
In one internal email obtained by the panel’s investigators, Rakowitz appeared to brag that X was “80% below revenue forecasts” since GARM targeted Musk over brand safety issues.
Rakowitz later claimed the email was meant as a “self-effacing joke.”
GARM is also said to have exhibited bias against the Daily Wire, Fox News, comedian Joe Rogan’s podcast “The Joe Rogan Experience” and other outlets accused of spreading disinformation.
The House Judiciary’s report said GARM relied on tools such as the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a London-based group that in 2022 unveiled an ad blacklist of 10 news outlets whose opinion sections tilted conservative or libertarian, including The Post, RealClearPolitics and Reason magazine.
The House committee’s probe is centered on whether GARM, WFA and its members violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which governs illegal restraint of trade.
GARM and WFA denied wrongdoing. A spokesperson for the organizations previously said allegations of anti-competitive behavior are “unfounded.”
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