If the proposed $13.25-billion merger between advertising giants Omnicom Group and Interpublic Group (IPG) is approved, it would create the largest advertising agency in U.S. history — and that should alarm every freedom-loving American.
This merger would be wokeness on steroids: a juggernaut agency likely to snub conservative products, voices, and media outlets, not because they’re unfit for the marketplace, but because they don’t conform to the latest ideological mandates. While mergers of this size often come dressed in corporate jargon and market-speak, make no mistake: This one is about control, censorship, and the silencing of dissent.
Newsmax, in a formal filing with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), is sounding the alarm with a powerful argument: This merger is not only anticompetitive, but also dangerous to our republic. It risks creating a system where independent and conservative media are systematically starved of ad revenue and pushed to the fringes of public discourse.
A Monolith in the Making
By uniting two of the global “Big Six” advertising holding companies, the Omnicom-IPG merger would centralize control of over $240 billion in annual ad spending. That’s not just market power; it’s a stranglehold on who gets heard in America’s digital town square.
According to Newsmax’s filing, the Herfindahl-Hirschman Index (HHI) — used by the FTC to measure market concentration — would surge by over 650 points, landing well above the threshold for a highly concentrated market. But the threat isn’t limited to market dominance. It’s ideological domination masquerading as business as usual.
This is where the real danger lies. The newly merged entity would prioritize efficiency or profitability, and be shaped by “correctness”: the ever-shifting standards of social, political, and cultural alignment enforced by unelected gatekeepers in corporate America.
Censorship by Proxy: A Quiet Blacklist
One of the most chilling aspects of this proposed merger is the growing reliance by ad firms on politically biased media rating services like NewsGuard and the Global Disinformation Index (GDI). These organizations present themselves as neutral fact-checkers but routinely rank conservative outlets lower than liberal ones, often based on opaque, shifting standards.
By outsourcing decisions to these third parties, Omnicom and IPG effectively participate in “censorship by proxy,” using advertising dollars as a weapon to defund outlets they (or their partners) ideologically oppose. Newsmax’s filing rightly describes these services as “ideological filters” dressed up in the language of reliability.
It’s no wonder that FCC commissioner Brendan Carr and even the State of Texas have called out these practices for what they are: covert efforts to suppress constitutionally protected speech under the guise of “misinformation control.”
DIE as a Political Bludgeon
The dangers don’t end there. Both Omnicom and IPG are deeply embedded in DIE (Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity — also “DEI”) initiatives that go far beyond promoting fairness. In practice, these programs often result in racially and ideologically motivated ad targeting, rewarding media that promote certain views while punishing those that don’t check the right demographic or political boxes.
This flies in the face of Executive Order 14173, signed by President Trump earlier this year, which prohibits federal support for DIE programs that discriminate on the basis of race or sex. According to Newsmax, Omnicom’s and IPG’s current practices are illegal.
Left unchecked, the merger would allow those practices to scale nationally, embedding viewpoint discrimination deep into the financial structure of American media.
What the FTC Must Do
The FTC has a choice to make. It can either rubber-stamp this deal and allow one of the most powerful advertising empires in history to form — or it can uphold its mandate to protect competition, fairness, and diversity of opinion.
Newsmax has proposed a sensible path forward, including
These are not radical demands. They are commonsense protections against the ideological monopolization of our public discourse.
The Bigger Picture
The merger’s approval could trigger a domino effect, with other ad giants like WPP, Havas, and Dentsu rushing to consolidate just to stay competitive. The result? A “Big Three” advertising oligopoly where dissenting voices are simply priced out of existence.
As Newsmax CEO Christopher Ruddy warns, “the proposed merger doesn’t just reduce competition; it sets a precedent for coordinated censorship and ideological enforcement in the digital economy.”
Conclusion
Every American should be concerned about this deal — not just media companies, not just conservatives, but anyone who values open debate, independent journalism, and the free exchange of ideas.
We don’t need an advertising Goliath dictating what messages are acceptable and which ones vanish into silence. We need competition, fairness, and freedom. If the FTC is truly serious about protecting those values, it will say no to the Omnicom-IPG merger — a merger that would concentrate power in the hands of ideological enforcers who increasingly shape the future of America.
Jerry McGlothlin is a veteran media strategist and founder of SpecialGuests.com. He has appeared on or booked guests for major media networks for over three decades. Contact: jerry@specialguests.com
Image via Pixnio.