Elon Musk’s social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, has taken legal action against a group of advertisers, claiming they have orchestrated a boycott that has cost the company billions in lost revenue.
The lawsuit, filed in a Texas federal court, targets the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and major companies including Unilever, Mars, CVS Health, and Orsted. The complaint alleges that the WFA’s Global Alliance for Responsible Media led a campaign to halt advertising following Musk’s controversial acquisition of Twitter in late 2022, as reported by the Associated Press (AP).
Musk purchased Twitter for $44 billion amid much public scrutiny and subsequently rebranded it to X. Since then, he has made various contentious changes, such as downsizing the workforce, temporarily suspending some journalists, and reactivating several previously banned accounts.
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The focus of the lawsuit largely centers on the early stages of Musk’s tenure, although tensions with advertisers escalated in November 2023. That month saw major brands pulling their ads due to concerns over hate speech and extremist content surfacing on X, further exacerbated by Musk’s own remarks endorsing a troubling conspiracy theory, as the AP noted.
Musk has since criticized these advertisers, accusing them of “blackmail” and expressing his feelings in colorful language.
On X, Musk shared his thoughts about the lawsuit, stating, “We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war.” He also shared a video featuring Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of X, who claims the lawsuit stems from findings by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee indicating a “systematic illegal boycott” by certain companies.
In another post, Musk encouraged other companies that feel victimized by advertiser boycotts to consider legal action, adding, “There may also be criminal liability via the RICO Act.”
Following X’s lawsuit, Rumble, a video-sharing platform popular with conservative audiences, announced it would support X’s legal battle against advertisers and ad agencies accused of colluding to stifle ad revenue for specific platforms and creators.