Newsmax analyst John Tabacco has sharply criticized the Federal Trade Commission’s (FTC) approval of a $13.25 billion merger between advertising giants Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group, saying the decision “stinks at all levels.”
The merger, approved in June, creates what is now considered the world’s largest advertising agency with control over roughly $240 billion in U.S. ad spending.
Newsmax Media, Inc. on Monday formally filed comments with the FTC opposing the deal, joining other conservative groups that say it threatens free speech and will deepen alleged censorship of right-leaning media.
Tabacco, host of Newsmax’s “Wise Guys,” voiced his concerns during an appearance Friday on the “Chris Salcedo Show,” arguing the approval will allow advertising firms to continue using ratings services that target conservative outlets.
“It says nothing at all in the [Consent] Order about stopping these agencies from using third-party ratings services like NewsGuard to block media like Newsmax and other conservative companies,” Tabacco said.
Under the FTC’s Consent Order, Omnicom and IPG agreed not to collude with other firms to steer advertising away from outlets based on political or ideological viewpoints.
However, critics say the order fails to address practices involving ratings organizations such as NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI), which have been accused of labeling conservative media as unreliable.
Tabacco cited multiple studies by the Media Research Center claiming conservative outlets receive consistently low reliability scores, while left-leaning and even foreign state media, including Chinese Communist Party publications, score higher.
“The New York Times can get the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop wrong, push the Russia hoax, falsely accuse Israel of bombing hospitals in Gaza — and they get 100% or nearly 100% ratings,” Tabacco said. “It makes no sense unless this was political.”
Newsmax’s filing with the FTC was joined by the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) Foundation and the Independent Media Council (IMC), organizations that collectively represent more than 100 million Americans.
Their submissions argue that the FTC’s approval and the Consent Order violate federal law and recent executive orders, particularly for failing to address the companies’ vast diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
Tabacco noted that FTC Chair Andrew Ferguson was appointed by President Trump but previously was chief counsel to Sen. Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., from 2019 until 2021.
In 2023, with McConnell’s support, Ferguson was nominated for the FTC under President Joe Biden.
Ferguson’s decision to approve the merge has not only stunned conservative leaders, but also FTC insiders who were surprised he expedited the merger’s approval before the Commission’s investigation had been completed.
Newsmax, CPAC and the IMC have urged the Trump administration to reconsider the merger approval or reconstitute the Consent Order to include more protections against censorship and provide restitution to conservative media for the damages they incurred by the advertising agencies actions.
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