The World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) has released a statement addressing the abrupt dissolution of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a decision that came one day after GARM was hit with an antitrust lawsuit from X (formerly Twitter) and Rumble Video.
The WFA’s statement paints the shutdown as a response to “strained resources,” claiming that “recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue [GARM’s] purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances.”
Their now deleted webpage previously stated that GARM’s ambition was to “get the digital media ecosystem working together on the shared priorities that will lead to the removal of harmful content from advertiser-supported social media.”
GARM was established in 2019, allegedly in response to the Christchurch mosque shootings.
X’s CEO, Linda Yaccarino, announced a lawsuit against GARM on Wednesday, accusing GARM and its members, including CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever, of coordinating efforts to suppress certain online content through boycotts and censorship.
“People are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is undermined and some viewpoints are not funded over others as part of an illegal boycott,” she said.
Ben Shapiro of The Daily Wire, who previously testified before the U.S. Congress that GARM was a censorship syndicate targeting right-wing businesses, celebrated the group’s dissolution on Thursday.
“They would tell advertisers where they could and could not put their money with untrustworthy sources. All those untrustworthy sources were always on the right,” he said.
“Big win for the right today, as the WFA kills GARM dead.”
