News Corp CEO Calls for Consequences Against Ad Boycott Group

In a recent earnings call, News Corp CEO Robert Thomson demanded “commercial consequences” for the now-defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), which was accused of orchestrating an advertising boycott against various news outlets, including The Post. The call for accountability follows a report from the House Judiciary Committee that revealed GARM's leadership, particularly Robert Rakowitz, coordinated efforts to suppress free speech and limit advertising on platforms deemed politically unfashionable. GARM, a nonprofit initiative established by the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), was abruptly dissolved after the committee's findings and a related antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X. The lawsuit claims that GARM and several major corporations, including CVS Health and Unilever, caused X to lose “billions of dollars in advertising revenue.” The WFA cited the negative impact of the allegations and the lawsuit as reasons for discontinuing GARM's operations. In a statement, the WFA described GARM as a small initiative that had become a distraction due to recent controversies. The organization emphasized that the allegations misrepresented GARM's purpose and activities, leading to significant resource depletion. Rakowitz, in his defense, claimed that an email referenced in the report was intended as a “self-effacing joke.” The report also highlighted GARM's reliance on the Global Disinformation Index, which had previously published a blacklist targeting conservative-leaning news outlets. Critics, including Jordan from the House Judiciary Committee, argue that the WFA shares similar biases, and investigations into these practices are ongoing, focusing on the broader implications of censorship in media.