Singapore – X, formerly known as Twitter, has reached an agreement with multinational FMCG company Unilever regarding partnership on the social media platform, the company has announced in a short post.
“X is pleased to have reached an agreement with Unilever and to continue our partnership with them on the platform. Today’s news is the first part of the ecosystem-wide solution and we look forward to more resolution across the industry,” the company said.
It should be noted that Unilever was one of the companies included in X’s advertising boycott lawsuit back in August this year that also included the World Federation of Advertisers (WFA), Mars, CVS Health, and Ørsted.
The lawsuit alleges that these companies, in collaboration with the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM), orchestrated an advertiser boycott after Elon Musk’s acquisition of the platform, resulting in billions of dollars in lost revenue for X. The company claims that this boycott violated U.S. antitrust laws by suppressing competition in the digital advertising space.
X argues that the boycott was not only illegal but also politically motivated, potentially influenced by concerns over the platform’s content moderation policies under Musk’s leadership. This legal action follows months of declining ad revenue, as many advertisers distanced themselves from X due to concerns about their brands appearing next to problematic content.
At that time, GARM also decided to suspend its activities, explaining the non-profit did not have the financial resources to fight the case in court.
“GARM is a small, not-for-profit initiative, and recent allegations that unfortunately misconstrue its purpose and activities have caused a distraction and significantly drained its resources and finances. GARM therefore is making the difficult decision to discontinue its activities,” the WFA statement read back then.
Many brands and advertisers have been reluctant to advertise on X primarily due to concerns about brand safety and content moderation. After Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022, significant changes to its moderation policies sparked fears among advertisers that their ads could appear alongside harmful or inappropriate content, such as hate speech or misinformation.
Several brands withdrew their ads in response to these risks, worried about potential reputational damage. Musk’s reduction of moderation staff and a shift towards more lenient content policies raised further alarm. Additionally, advertisers were concerned about how X’s evolving platform dynamics, such as a surge in controversial or offensive content, could impact the perception of their brands.
