News Corp CEO Robert Thomson demands ‘consequences’ for secret advertising cartel that orchestrated media boycott

News Corp CEO Robert Thomson called for commercial consequences for the now-defunct left-wing advertising cartel accused of orchestrating an advertising boycott against a host of media outlets and platforms, including The Post.

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, was abruptly shut down Thursday after a damning report from the House Judiciary Committee revealed evidence that its chief, Robert Rakowitz, coordinated a campaign to stifle free speech and limit advertising.

Thomson said The Posts parent News Corp is now considering our legal options to deal with the blatant political bias of advertising industry bodies, which has done serious damage and denied many advertisers access to a significant audience.

We applaud the work of the House Judiciary Committee in pursuing the misnomer that is the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, or GARM, and its coordinated boycott of media platforms perceived as unfashionable by illiberal liberals, Thomson said on the earnings call. of the company for the fourth quarter. Thursday.

GARM’s damage has been real and there should be commercial consequences, he added.

A News Corp spokesman declined further comment.

GARM was a nonprofit initiative formed by the World Federation of Advertisers, an international trade group whose members include dozens of major corporations that account for 90% of global marketing spending, according to its website.

Earlier this week, Elon Musks X filed an antitrust lawsuit naming GARM, WFA, and a handful of specific companies — CVS Health, Mars, Orsted, and Unilever — as defendants.

X is seeking treble damages and injunctive relief on claims that the defendants participated in an illegal advertising boycott. The lawsuit, filed in Texas, alleges that X lost billions of dollars in advertising revenue as a result of their actions.

The WFA cited the House Judiciary Committee report and the Xs antitrust lawsuit as key factors in its decision to close GARM.

GARM is a small, non-profit initiative and recent allegations that unfortunately misrepresent its purpose and activities have caused distraction and significantly depleted its resources and finances, WFA said in a statement posted on its website on Friday.

WFA is therefore taking the difficult decision to discontinue GARM’s activities.

The House panels’ report included an internal conversation 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 self-indulgent prank.

The report said GARM relied on tools such as the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), a London-based group that in 2022 revealed an advertising blacklist of 10 outlets whose opinion sections leaned conservative or liberal, including The Post, RealClearPolitics and Reason magazine.

The House Judiciary Committee is investigating whether GARM, WFA and its members violated Section 1 of the Sherman Antitrust Act, which governs unlawful restraint of trade.

In an interview with The Post after the closing of GARM, the Chairman of the Judiciary of the House Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) called his death great news for freedom, free markets, the First Amendment, all the good things that make America special.

The World Federation of Advertisers, we think, has the same bias, Jordan added. Our investigation is looking into all of this. It’s all about stopping censorship however it’s done.