Ad group Global Alliance for Responsible Media has "discontinued" its brand safety activities following Elon Musk's industry-wide anti-trust lawsuit against advertisers who left X (formerly Twitter).
According to Business Insider, the GARM has notified all of its members that it is halting all activities, claiming that it is preparing the limited funds it has to focus on fighting the lawsuit.
The GARM is an ad safety group formed by the World Federation of Advertisers in 2019 to help brands "address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms."
The ad group is among the primary recipients of X's federal lawsuit alleging that the group organized advertisers to launch "a massive advertiser boycott" on the platform, depriving it of billions of dollars in revenue.
GARM Refutes Boycott Campaign Accusations
It is worth noting that the GARM still lets its member advertisers decide whether to demonetize their content on any platform.
The GARM also clarified that it does not provide any recommendations or rating services that could directly affect advertisers' "investment decisions." The group even clearly states that it does not "participate in or advocate for boycotts of any kind."
Many of the brands also left X after consumer rights group Media Matters reported on Musk's platform placing sponsored posts next to antisemitic conspiracy theories and pro-Nazi content.
More brands later left after Musk accused advertisers of "blackmailing" him while throwing slurs at Disney CEO Bob Iger.
Elon Musk Woos Brands Back on X Amid Dropping Ad Revenues
This was not the first time Musk and X tried to court advertisers back to the platform as more reports surfaced about the social media site suffering huge ad revenue drops.
Earlier reports estimated that X could lose over $75 million in revenue this year alone as more brands and companies leave the platform as more controversies about the X owner surface.
It is also not the first time Musk launched an expensive lawsuit against opposition in a convoluted effort to bring back brands on the platform as seen with his "thermonuclear lawsuit" on Media Matters.
The lawsuit was later dropped after the court ruled Musk and X did not have much evidence to pursue the case, but not before Media Matters was hit with massive layoffs.
Many major brands like Apple, IBM, Warner Bros. Discovery, Sony, and Disney have yet to bring back monetization on their X accounts.
Related Article : Elon Musk Wants X Advertisers to Come Back
