F.T.C. Investigates Ad Groups and Watchdogs, Alleging Boycott Collusion

The Federal Trade Commission is investigating whether roughly a dozen prominent advertising and advocacy groups violated antitrust law by coordinating boycotts among advertisers that did not want their brands to appear alongside hateful online content, four people familiar with the inquiries said.

The inquiries include the agency’s previously reported investigation of Media Matters, a liberal advocacy organization that has published research on hateful and antisemitic content on X, the social media company owned by Elon Musk.

Ad Fontes Media, a group that rates the quality of news sources, received an investigative letter from the F.T.C. on May 20 demanding information about its business in relation to an investigation about “possible collusion,” the organization’s chief executive, Vanessa Otero, said.