X Suing Companies for Alleged Advertising Boycott

Elon Musk’s X/Twitter is suing a group of major companies, alleging that they unlawfully conspired to boycott the site.

According to reports by the BBC, it accuses the food giants Unilever and Mars, private healthcare company CVS Health, and renewable energy firm Orsted – along with a trade association called the World Federation of Advertisers, WFA – of depriving it of “billions of dollars” in advertising revenue.

The lawsuit relates to the period in 2022 just after Mr Musk bought X, then known as Twitter, when advertising revenue dived.

Some companies had been wary of advertising on the platform amid concerns that its new owner was not serious enough about removing harmful online content.

X chief executive Linda Yaccarino said “people are hurt when the marketplace of ideas is constricted.

She noted that no small group of people should monopolise what gets monetised.

And, Mr Musk tweeted: “We tried being nice for 2 years and got nothing but empty words. Now, it is war.”

The WFA and the accused companies did not immediately respond to requests for comment.