Jim Jordan Demands Advertisers Explain Why They Don’t Advertise On MAGA Media Sites
from the free-speech-absolutist-says-what? dept
Remember last month when ExTwitter excitedly “rejoined GARM” (the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, an advertising consortium focused on brand safety)? And then, a week later, after Rep. Jim Jordan released a misleading report about GARM, Elon Musk said he was going to sue GARM and hoped criminal investigations would be opened?
Unsurprisingly, Jordan has now ratcheted things up a notch by sending investigative demands to a long list of top advertisers associated with GARM. The letter effectively accuses these advertisers of antitrust violations for choosing not to advertise on conservative media sites, based on GARM’s recommendations on how to best protect brand safety.
The link there shows all the letters, but we’ll just stick with the first one, to Adidas. The letter doesn’t make any demands specifically about ExTwitter, but does name the GOP’s favorite media sites, and demands to know whether any of these advertisers agreed not to advertise on those properties. In short, this is an elected official demanding to know why a private company chose not to give money to media sites that support that elected official:
Was Adidas Group aware of the coordinated actions taken by GARM toward news outlets and podcasts such as The Joe Rogan Experience, The Daily Wire, Breitbart News, or Fox News, or other conservative media? Does Adidas Group support GARM’s coordinated actions toward these news outlets and podcasts?
Jordan is also demanding all sorts of documents and answers to questions. He is suggesting strongly that GARM’s actions (presenting ways that advertisers might avoid, say, having their brands show up next to neo-Nazi content) were a violation of antitrust law.
This is all nonsense. First of all, choosing not to advertise somewhere is protected by the First Amendment. And there are good fucking reasons not to advertise on media properties most closely associated with nonsense peddling, extremist culture wars, and just general stupidity.
Even more ridiculous is that the letter cites NAACP v. Claiborne Hardware, which is literally the Supreme Court case that establishes that group boycotts are protected speech. It’s the case that says not supporting a business for the purpose of protest, while economic activity, is still protected speech and can’t be regulated by the government (and it’s arguable that what does GARM does is even a boycott at all).
As the Court noted, in holding that organizing a boycott was protected by the First Amendment:
The First Amendment similarly restricts the ability of the State to impose liability on an individual solely because of his association with another.
But, of course, one person who is quite excited is Elon Musk. He quote tweeted (they’re still tweets, right?) the House Judiciary’s announcement of the demands with a popcorn emoji:
So, yeah. Mr. “Free Speech Absolutist,” who claims the Twitter files show unfair attempts by governments to influence speech, now supports the government trying to pressure brands into advertising on certain media properties. It’s funny how the “free speech absolutist” keeps throwing the basic, fundamental principles of free speech out the window the second he doesn’t like the results.
That’s not supporting free speech at all. But, then again, for Elon to support free speech, he’d first have to learn what it means, and he’s shown no inclination of ever doing that.
Filed Under: advertising, antitrust, boycotts, brand safety, elon musk, garm, jim jordan
Companies: adidas, fox news, garm, twitter, x
Comments on “Jim Jordan Demands Advertisers Explain Why They Don’t Advertise On MAGA Media Sites”
they’re still tweets, right?
Probably not, considering the rebranding? I nominate “farts” as a potential replacement.
Re: Xits
Some dialects pronounce X like sh so I think they should be called Xits pronounce the same as sh*ts.
Re: Re:
Posting is called “taking a sh*t”
Re: Re:
In many places, “X” replaces “Christ”, as in “Xmas” means “Christmas”. So let’s start calling “tweets” “Christs”.
I know it’ll never catch on, but maybe it’ll offend all the right wing Xians, I mean Christians.
Re:
tweet = eXcxrete
tweets = eXcretions
tweeted = eXcreted
Re: Petty to be sure, but well deserved
Given’s Elon’s childish decision to rename the platform I suggest keeping the name of ‘tweets’ if for no other reason than I suspect it really gets his skin to be reminded of the previous name, and there’s some poetic justice to be found in constantly ‘deadnaming’ the site of someone filled to the brim with people who find such a practice funny.
“It’s only free speech when I do it.” – Elon, probably
Jim Jordan can’t be bothered to do anything when his wrestlers report sexual abuse, but he sure can swing congress if you’re not giving money to his party’s mouthpieces.
It’s really starting to look like conservatives think everything belongs to them because they’re conservatives.
Re:
That’s exactly how they think. Ever notice how they say stuff like “Americans are tired of…” or “Americans don’t want socialism” despite over half the country disagreeing. It’s because they don’t view anyone who isn’t one of them as American. Only white conservative christians count as Americans to them. Everyone else is lucky if they consider them people
Let’s say, Jim, that because Germany prohibits anything related to Nazi and so Adidas is not allowed to buy ads next to Nazi content.
Yes, let’s call it “foreign propaganda” if you want.
Of course in reality, it may be a little bit more complicated.
But, Jim, be honest once in the while, you don’t care at all about reality, hum?
Re:
Asking Jim Jordan to be honest? You really are crazy!
GOP: We love the free market and free speech!
Free market: Advertising on your sites is a PR nightmare. We’re taking our business elsewhere.
GOP: That’s not what we meant!
“How dare you not do something on right-leaning media you’re not even obligated to do at all in the first place!”
I demand Gym Jordan face the consequences of decades of his own shitty, shitty actions and yet, here we are.
Re:
If Q-Anon was morally consistent, they would be up in arms over Trump, Gaetz, and Jordan.
Is this another change in conservative speak?
Like literally now means figuratively in conservative speak, free now means forced.
So, in their minds, they are being factual when they say they support
freeforced speech.Is Gym just mad that he can;t get a deal doing commercials for DICKS sporting goods?
Its anti-trust when they don’t want to be on a platform that denies the existence of the Holocaust & its silencing conservative voices if a platform decides they don’t want us screaming how the Holocaust was faked!!!
This dumbass has been in Congress for years, he has sponsored 0 bills but he’s been on Faux News like 600+ times… if he was my representative I would be curious why the hell we elected someone more interest in soundbites on faux than doing anything for us silly voters who believed his lies.
Americans going homeless because of clear anti trust violations and monopolistic practices? Not a problem.
Rich people not spending money to advertise on websites that are okay with child porn and terrorist executions? Problem.
Jim Jordan, just because you think molesting kids is okay doesn’t mean everyone does.
Stop treating politicians as acting in good faith
I would love it if companies just gave the honest answer, and made it a public response, as I imagine a big reason politicians feel safe pulling unconstitutional stunts like this is that they know their targets will never call them on it and will instead bend over backwards to pretend that the demands are being made in good faith.
‘Well Jim, we aren’t advertising on those sites because unlike some people we don’t want our brand to be associated with nazis, bigots, the deranged and the conmen that take advantage of them via often dangerous lies, and thanks to these little things called the first amendment and free market it’s our choice where we spend our money advertising.’
Look, I’m not saying Mr. Jordan’s arguments aren’t stupid (they are), but it’s a brand of stupid that has clearly been endorsed by the government since Wickard v Filburn at least. If the government can regulate non-commerce as commerce then surely it can regulate not-speaking as speaking (“congress shall make no law” notwithstanding). Much like our war with East Asia, it has always been thus. See my detailed legal analysis on page 69 of Fuck You That’s Why.
is anyone surprised Gym Jordan doesn’t understand this. It’s not like he understands much of anything at all.
Re: 'With great power should come great expectations'
He’s a politician, he’s doing this not because he ‘doesn’t understand’ but knowing full well what he’s doing.
"Oh, that... It's because we don't want to. "
“We’re not advertising on MAGA platforms because we don’t want to.
We don’t want to to be associated with them — more importantly, we don’t want our customers to associate them with us.
How, exactly, is any of this any of your business, anyways?
Good day, sir.”
Re:
I’d add “Please see Fani Willis’ response to your previous silly demands, and add our names to that signature line.”
‘Well Jim, we aren’t advertising on those sites because unlike some people we don’t want our brand to be associated with nazis, bigots, the deranged and the conmen
You forgot “weird”
Re:
What he really forgot was ‘… and assholes like you’.
Well, what do you expect?
Jim Jordan heads the House panel for the Weaponisation of the Federal Government, and that is what he does.
I don’t envy future students of political history: it will be such a tough job separating political documentation from standup comedy that it isn’t funny.
I doubt that Jordan himself could explain the difference in a convincing manner.
The brainless petulance and childishness of Little Jim, the Prince of Precious, the Master of Rectal Insertion of Head into the Arse of the Orange Weirdo, never ceases to amaze and appal me.
No ads?
So that means I don’t have to use an adblocker to go to their sites?
I mean, that’s got to be considered a pro in some circles.
Jim Jordan has no authority over entities in the free market. What’s he doing fiddling around there, being very non-Republican?
Re:
No, very Republican as of lately…
I don't recall saying good luck
Jim, Adidas is a normal brand. Happy normies.
Maybe MAGA conspiracy people wear sportswear, we don’t know. Frankly, we don’t want to know. It’s a market we can do without!
Because First Amendment freedom of speech and association. Suck it up, buttercup.
Advertisers don’t like to use MAGA media? Does this include ads for Kool-Aid? You’d think that would be a NATURAL.
Don’t even bother trying to explain something as complex as the First Amendment to Gym Jordan, who is a practicing fucking idiot. He’d love to be Goebbels in the upcoming neue fat trump regime, but 1) Stephen Miller already has that gig sewn up, partly by virtue of being the very re-incarnation of Josef Goebbels, and 2) The Attic is empty! Gym Jordan only has enough brains to organize locker room circle jerks. Certainly that’s a task that eagerly awaits his expertise, if enough voters in gerrymandered Ohio can come up with the oomph to oust his stupid ass out of office. (And they should be reminded: Gym Jordan has yet to write or successfully champion any legislation whatsoever, after – what – 18 years? in Congress. Gym Jordan only exists to be a Fascist butt-trumpet.) We can only wistfully hope.
it's not even the First Amendment
Choosing not to advertise means choosing not to spend money. Since when does a business have the right to demand that anyone give it money?
This isn’t a First Amendment issue, it’s so basic that I’m not sure it has a name except, it’s my money and it’s your job to convince me to give it to you, not my job to explain why I don’t think you’re worth giving money to. Jesus.
GARM folded after Rumble joined Elon.
I wonder why? Too much proof I guess