Elon Musk’s X fights back, sues advertisers over ad revenue loss

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (formerly Twitter), is suing several advertisers, according to Business Insider. The company accuses them of working together to stop advertising on the platform after Musk took over the company.

The lawsuit, filed in Texas on Saturday, February 1, 2025, names companies such as Nestlé, Colgate, Lego, Pinterest, Tyson Foods, Shell, Mars, Twitch, and more. It claims that members of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), a now-closed advertising group under the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), conspired to withhold billions of dollars in ad revenue from X.

GARM, created in 2019, aimed to help advertisers and media companies handle harmful content like hate speech and misinformation. X was once a member but left after Musk’s takeover. The group shut down, saying it didn’t have the resources to fight an earlier lawsuit by X.

According to the complaint, at least 18 GARM members stopped advertising on X between November and December 2022, shortly after Musk’s $44 billion purchase in October. X claims this boycott hurt its ability to compete with other social media platforms for ad revenue and user engagement.

Since Musk took over, X has lost significant ad revenue, as many advertisers pulled out due to staff layoffs and the return of previously banned accounts.

Now, X is seeking financial compensation and legal action against what it calls violations of US antitrust laws.