X CEO Linda Yaccarino says GARM antitrust lawsuit aims to fix ‘broken’ ad ecosystem

The antitrust lawsuit filed by Elon Musk’s X against a now-defunct advertising cartel and several brands accused of a secret boycott was a critical step toward fixing a broken ecosystem, X CEO Linda Yaccarino said Tuesday.

In an interview with The Post, Yaccarino shed new light on Xs decision to wage legal war against the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which was abruptly shut down days after the social media company filed its lawsuit last week.

The left-leaning nonprofit and other advocates were accused of coordinating a boycott against X that cost the site billions of dollars in advertising revenue.

We were victimized by a small group of people pushing their authority or their ability to monopolize what money is made, Yaccarino said.

GARM was only a symptom, but [finding] the root cause of the entire ecosystem being broken, that’s what the lawsuit is all about.

Yaccarino, the former chief advertising officer at NBCUniversal, said Xs’ goal is to bring sunlight to the problem and drive a shift toward greater transparency about the data and processes advertisers use to determine where to spend their money.

It’s about finding out exactly what happened and finding out why or where it was personal bias that became the determining factor for the advertiser’s investment, Yaccarino said.

The Xs lawsuit, filed in Texas federal court, will continue against GARMs, the parent of the World Federation of Advertisers, whose members control 90% of global marketing spending.

The WFA cited strained nonprofit sources for the decision to close GARM as it fights the antitrust lawsuit.

In addition to GARM and WFA, a handful of major companies CVS Health, Mars, Orsted and Unilever were named as defendants. X is seeking treble compensatory damages and injunctive relief.

Yaccarino said the lawsuit was filed as a direct result of evidence uncovered by the House Judiciary Committee, which accused GARM executive Robert Rakowitz and others of coordinating a campaign to limit advertising on a host of media and online platforms. including The Post.

House panel reports detailed an instance in which Rakowitz appeared to boast that X was 80% below revenue projections since GARM targeted Musk over brand safety issues. Rakowitz told investigators the email was intended as a joke.

Since then, the House Judiciary Committee has sent letters to more than 40 companies asking them to provide information and preserve evidence related to any agreements with GARM.

While more legal action is not the company’s goal, X has not ruled out suing other companies if more evidence emerges in the coming days, Yaccarino said.

I want to make it clear that companies are free to make their own advertising decisions, she said. But when a small group of advertisers work together to coordinate a boycott. The law does not allow this.

Yaccarino insisted that X’s relationship with advertisers remains strong despite the ongoing legal battle, stating that many people have reached out to me in support since X announced the move.

The X boss pointed to several recent events that demonstrated the value of the site’s audience, including Musk’s widely watched interview with former President Donald Trump on Monday night and President Biden’s decision to announce his withdrawal from the 2024 election with a tweet.

Upcoming product launches, such as the highly anticipated Xs payment processor, will also be attractive to advertisers, Yaccarino added.

X has become something completely different in the last 18 months and has become this must-have platform where users around the world spend more of their time and lives on the platform, she said.

Yaccarino has navigated a period of intense turmoil since taking over as CEO in mid-2023.

The company’s battle with an exodus of advertisers intensified as Musk overhauled the business and concerns grew that lax content moderation practices had allowed anti-Semitic posts and other harmful content to spread.

Last fall, the situation became so contentious that a group of advertising executives pushed Yaccarino to resign in November. 18 conference calls, according to multiple reports. Yaccarino confirmed that the incident had occurred.

Despite the turmoil, Yaccarino said she is more committed to X than ever and excited about the company’s product line.

I’m exactly where I need to be, she said. And X stands at the epicenter of culture, and I’m here to drive business results for people.