US Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) on Wednesday has launched a probe into the merger of two advertising giants over their ties to an anti-conservative cartel that sought to defund news outlets, The Post has learned.
The House Judiciary Committee chairman sent letters to the CEOs of Omnicom and Interpublic Group — which were founding members of the left-leaning World Federation of Advertisers (WFA) and its now-defunct Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) initiative — as part of an antitrust investigation.
The committee ordered the companies to preserve documents and all contact with the WFA and GARM and provide information to the House, according to letters obtained by The Post.
In the letters, the House also demanded Omnicom and Interpublic reveal what precautions they have taken to avoid repeating GARM’s anticompetitive history, and disclose any politically partisan “brand safety” initiatives with which their company is involved.
The committee requested the answers be sent to them no later than the afternoon of Jan. 7.
The disclosure of the probe comes after The Post’s Charlie Gasparino exclusively reported this week that the deal could attract scrutiny from the Trump antitrust department, Federal Trade Commission, and FCC over the agencies’ use of the controversial rating services.
An antitrust case can be made if federal officials can prove that there is a deal by the raters to skew their grades to appease left-leaning executives in the ad business, sources said.
Omnicom and Interpublic did not immediately respond to The Post’s requests for comment.
Omnicon’s acquisition of rival Interpublic, which was announced earlier this month, would create the largest ad agency in the world with more than 100,000 employees and nearly $25 billion in yearly revenue.
The committee is investigating whether the major merger would crush competition, especially among conservative voices, as it earlier this year found GARM did.
GARM claimed right-leaning platforms spread “so-called harmful content” and deprived them of advertising revenue by badmouthing them to more than 40 major companies including Adidas, American Express, Bayer, BP, Carhartt, Chanel CVS and General Motors, according to the letters and The Post’s previous reporting.
The ad cartel led a widespread boycott of X, formerly known as Twitter, after Tesla founder Elon Musk acquired the social media platform in 2022, the letter said.
GARM also attacked Joe Rogan’s wildly popular Spotify podcast, which hosted President-elect Donald Trump during his campaign in October.
GARM allegedly instructed companies to direct ad dollars away from right-leaning news outlets including The Post and Fox News, both of which are owned by News Corp.
The House committee found GARM was collusive and squashed conservative voices in mainstream media and alternative platforms.
Robert Rakowitz, the ad cartel’s founder, summed up GARM’s aims when he said it seeks to “ensur[e] we fund the voices we want to associate with, and close down the advertising ecosystem to bad actors,” the letters said.
GARM ultimately shut down in August just days after Musk slapped the group with a federal antitrust lawsuit.
Jordan declined to provide further comment.
