X has had some success in pressuring advertisers to 'sue you for not advertising.'
After being acquired by Elon Musk in 2022, X (formerly Twitter) has faced a decline in revenue
X's Sales Pitch: Give Us Your Ad Business or We'll Sue - WSJ
https://www.wsj.com/business/media/x-twitter-ad-revenue-campaign-lawsuit-a882b5c6
Musk's threat to sue firms that don't buy ads on X seems to have paid off - Ars Technica
https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2025/06/verizon-bought-10m-in-ads-on-x-to-avoid-lawsuit-from-musk-report-says/
In August 2024, X filed a lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers and four of its member companies, alleging that a 'mass advertiser boycott' in which major companies temporarily suspended advertising with X was a violation of antitrust law. X claims that the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an initiative of the World Federation of Advertisers, led the suspension and reduction of X's ad inventory.
Elon Musk declares 'this is war' on the advertising industry in Twitter's lawsuit against the World Federation of Advertisers - GIGAZINE
GARM has suspended its activities in response to the lawsuit, and Stephan Loerke, head of the World Federation of Advertisers, said the group intends to defend itself against X's claims in court.
Advertising industry association suspended operations after being sued by X for 'forming a gang to boycott advertising to X' - GIGAZINE
Some antitrust experts believe X has a high bar to prove its case. Cardozo Law School professor Sam Weinstein told The Wall Street Journal that if advertisers came together to boycott X in order to lower its ad rates, that would be an antitrust violation, but if their motivation was to not want to be associated with speech that X tolerates, that's unlikely to be the case.
Meanwhile, X has been using the tactic of threatening to sue reluctant advertisers to get them to do so. At the end of 2024, it was reported that X warned Verizon Communications, a major telecommunications company, that it would take them to court if they did not spend advertising money with X.
According to a person familiar with the matter, the tactic worked, and Verizon Communications, which had not advertised with X since 2022, promised to pay at least $10 million in advertising fees in 2025. Similar tactics have been used against various companies, and at least six companies have signed advertising contracts with X under threat or pressure, according to the person.
Image-sharing platform Pinterest and toy maker Lego were added to the lawsuit in February 2025 after refusing to comply with X's demands. X's lawyers urged Pinterest to maintain the same advertising spending as before Musk's acquisition for two years, but Pinterest reportedly bought ads on other platforms that it believed were performing better than X, and withdrew its advertising payments to X.
Meanwhile, Unilever , which was named as a defendant in the original lawsuit, was removed from the lawsuit after agreeing to increase its advertising spending on X, and fashion brand Ralph Lauren also agreed to resume advertising with X after being threatened.
Greg Paul, president of global growth at advertising consulting firm MediaSense, said Musk's aggressive tactics are unusual and a cause for concern for advertisers, as he has a strong influence not only on X but also in politics. 'This kind of behavior may be common in China, but it's completely uncommon in the U.S.,' Paul said.
X is also negotiating with major advertising companies that spend tens of billions of dollars (several trillions of yen) on advertising on behalf of clients annually. In December 2024, during discussions with Interpublic Group , a major American advertising company, X indicated that its acquisition by Omnicom Group , another major advertising company, may be problematic from the Trump Administration. X subsequently signed a new annual contract with Interpublic Group for potential client spending.
Publicis Groupe , a Paris-based advertising agency, also agreed to increase its investment in X in the United States from $70 million to $150 million in 2024. The deal says Publicis Groupe won't have to spend the increased amount if client demand isn't enough. The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter, that one of the reasons Publicis Groupe agreed to the deal was to avoid pressure from X, which had sued some of its clients.
in Note, Posted by log1h_ik