Top advertisers push back against Elon Musk’s claims of coordinated boycott on X

New Delhi: A group of global advertisers, including Nestlé, Shell, Abbott Laboratories, and others, have denied allegations by Elon Musk’s X Corp that they colluded to orchestrate a boycott of the platform, formerly known as Twitter.

In a joint filing in a Texas federal court this week, the companies called on the court to dismiss a lawsuit brought by X, rejecting claims that their ad pullback was part of a coordinated campaign. Instead, they said the decisions were independent responses to the platform’s evolving content moderation policies following Musk’s $44 billion acquisition in 2022.

X’s lawsuit, first filed in August 2024 and expanded earlier this year, accused the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and several major brands of violating US antitrust laws. The complaint centres around the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), an initiative under WFA, which Musk’s team claims led a "massive advertiser boycott" to pressure X into conforming to certain brand safety norms.

But the advertisers pushed back, arguing that X’s problems were self-inflicted. Citing a rise in unchecked antisemitic content and other toxic speech, they said the platform had become increasingly unsuitable for brands after Musk relaxed moderation rules and reinstated controversial accounts.

“X Corporation’s suit is an attempt to use the courthouse to win back business it lost in the free market, after alienating customers through its own actions,” the companies’ legal team argued in the filing.

X has claimed the alleged boycott caused billions in lost revenue between November and December 2022, damaging its standing in the digital advertising market. However, the advertisers maintain there was no collusion—only individual companies exercising their commercial discretion.

The WFA, which wound down GARM’s operations in August 2024 following the initial lawsuit, has also denied any breach of competition laws. “Antitrust law does not require advertisers to continue supporting a platform that degrades the quality of its service,” the filing states.

Despite the ongoing legal battle, X is showing early signs of recovery. Market research firm Emarketer projected in March 2025 that the platform would generate $1.31 billion in US ad sales this year—a 17.5% increase and the first annual growth since Musk’s takeover. Major advertisers like Amazon, Disney, and Comcast are said to have cautiously resumed limited spending.

The court is yet to rule on whether X’s claims warrant a full trial. For now, the defendants are standing firm that their actions were lawful, market-driven decisions—not an orchestrated boycott.