Elon Musk’s X has sued a large group of influential and deep-pocketed advertisers including Unilever and Mars, alleging they illegally conspired to boycott the social media platform following the billionaire’s takeover.
The suit, filed Tuesday in a federal court in Texas, says the “massive advertiser boycott” cost the company billions in revenue, according to legal documents obtained by TheWrap.
Plaintiffs named are members of the World Federation of Advertisers, including CVS Health and Orsted. The lawsuit accuses the group’s initiative, Global Alliance for Responsible Media, of coordinating an ad-buy pause after Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022.
Hours after the filing, Musk posted that the free-speech video platform Rumble had joined the lawsuit. The World Federation of Advertisers, which also named itself as a plaintiff, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
CEO Linda Yaccarino said in a video posted Tuesday that the lawsuit stemmed from evidence presented to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Yaccarino said the hearing showed that the group of companies “organized a systematic illegal boycott” against X.
Pamela Chelin contributed to this report.
