What is GARM? 'Collusive' ad group allegedly targeting conservatives faces grilling from top House committee

A controversial advertising alliance has drawn the attention of one of the most powerful House committees in Congress as critics allege it has fostered corporate collusion in order to silence certain political messages.

The Global Alliance for Responsible Media (GARM) describes itself as a "cross-industry initiative" started as part of the World Federation of Advertisers that, according to a spokesperson, "was established in 2019 to help the advertising industry address the challenge of illegal or harmful content on digital media platforms and its monetization via advertising."

"It was set up in the wake of the Christchurch Mosque shootings in which the killer livestreamed the attacks on Facebook," the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. "This followed a slew of high-profile cases where brands’ advertisements appeared next to illegal or harmful content, such as child pornography and content promoting terrorism. This included the 2017 London Times exposé entitled ‘Big brands fund terror through online adverts.’"

The group claims to be "apolitical" and "voluntary" and says that it benefits its members by providing use of "resources and information about best practices to learn where their advertising investments go, and to avoid placement next to illegal or harmful content that could damage their brands’ reputation."

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"GARM offers voluntary frameworks to help brands choose the content they want their ads to appear next to," GARM’s website says.

However, GARM's critics have a different view of the organization and suggest that it has colluded with dozens of major U.S. corporations to push boycotts and suppress speech in a manner