Newsmax Media, Inc., has formally filed comments with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) opposing the proposed $13.25 billion merger of global advertising giants Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group (IPG).
The filing, submitted on behalf of Newsmax, strongly criticizes both the merger itself and the FTC's proposed consent order for failing to address anticompetitive harms and what Newsmax describes as "a dangerous expansion of censorship and ideological discrimination."
Last December, Omnicom and IPG, two of the nation's largest ad agencies announced their plan to merge.
Last month the FTC gave tentative approval of the merger subject to a consent order.
The order accused both companies of violating the law by conspiring to use boycotts and exclusion lists to prevent ad dollars from flowing to media organizations they targeted for ideological reasons.
Neither Omnicom or IPG admitted wrongdoing.
"The FTC has a duty to safeguard competition and viewpoint diversity," said Christopher Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax.
"This merger threatens both. The combined power of Omnicom and IPG — the combined dubbed "the world's largest advertising agency" – poses an existential threat to independent media outlets, particularly those espousing politically diverse or conservative views."
An Overwhelming Consolidation of Power
The merger would unite two of the "Big Six" global ad holding companies, creating the largest advertising agency in U.S. history.
According to industry estimates cited in the Newsmax filing, the merger would raise the media-buying market's Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) by more than 650 points, bringing it to 2775 — far above the FTC's threshold for a highly concentrated market.
Newsmax argues the true power of Omnicom and IPG lies not just in their reported revenues but in their control over more than $240 billion annually in advertising spending — enough to make or break entire news organizations.
Censorship by Proxy: Role of Biased Third Parties
At the heart of Newsmax's opposition is a charge that Omnicom and IPG use third-party media rating agencies, such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), to quietly starve conservative or dissenting media voices of ad dollars.
These agencies issue "reliability scores" that are frequently biased against right-leaning outlets and use opaque criteria to justify blacklisting content.
"These so-called 'reliability' services are nothing more than ideological filters," Ruddy said. "When major ad firms rely on them, they become instruments of censorship by proxy."
Newsmax's filing cites studies showing that NewsGuard consistently rates left-leaning media significantly higher than conservative outlets.
The filing also references concerns raised by FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr and legal action by the State of Texas, which claim these entities operate as blacklists suppressing constitutionally protected speech.
Violation of Executive Order on DEI
The merger, Newsmax contends, also violates Executive Order 14173, signed by President Trump in January 2025, which prohibits federal support for race- and gender-based Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) programs.
Both Omnicom and IPG have deeply embedded DEI initiatives that include race-based hiring, DEI-based media filters, and identity-targeted ad spending — all of which Newsmax argues are illegal under federal civil rights laws.
The filing urges the FTC to block the merger outright or impose strict conditions, including:
- A ban on using third-party media rating organizations such as NewsGuard or GDI.
- Ten years of compliance monitoring by an independent third party.
- An end to DEI-linked advertising practices, including race-based ad targeting.
- Restitution of $250 million to media outlets harmed by viewpoint discrimination.
- Formal acknowledgment by Omnicom and IPG of prior discriminatory conduct.
"The FTC must not allow massive firms to use DEI as cover for blacklisting media they disagree with," the filing reads. "This practice is illegal, immoral, and corrosive to our democracy."
Broader Market Effects
Newsmax warns that the Omnicom-IPG deal will not only harm advertisers and media outlets directly but will also spark a wave of "defensive mergers" among remaining competitors like WPP, Dentsu, and Havas.
This trend could reshape the global media and advertising landscape into a "Big Three" oligopoly, where independent or dissenting media are marginalized entirely.
"The proposed merger doesn't just reduce competition — it sets a precedent for coordinated censorship and ideological enforcement in the digital economy," said Ruddy. "Allowing it to proceed without stronger safeguards will accelerate the collapse of viewpoint diversity in American media."
See Full Newsmax Filing with FTC
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