In May 2023, when NBC’s advertising executive Linda Yaccarino took the reins at what was then known as Twitter, she faced a daunting challenge: rebuilding advertiser relationships following a tumultuous year under Elon Musk’s ownership. Yet, just weeks into her CEO tenure, Musk’s Anti-Semitism Tweet prompted major brands like Disney, Paramount, NBCUniversal, Comcast, Lionsgate, and Warner Bros to pause advertising on the platform. Musk later expressed regret over the tweet during a meeting, labeling it as his worst post ever, but the damage was done, particularly with advertisers, including Disney’s CEO Bob Iger, who stated emphatically, “Fuck yourself.” Yaccarino was in attendance.
“I don’t want to promote them,” he said. “If anyone is trying to blackmail me with ads or money, fuck yourself. Go, fuck. yourself,” he added. “Is that clear? Hey Bob, if you’re in the audience, that’s how I feel.”
Yaccarino had to navigate Musk’s unpredictability, ongoing content moderation challenges, hate speech incidents, strained advertiser relationships, and significant backlash related to Donald Trump’s administration involvement. In some instances, her response was to remain quiet, while in others, she opted to protect the company. Experts suggest it became apparent that Yaccarino was merely a titular CEO.
“The reality is that Elon Musk is at the helm of X,” stated Mike Proulx, Research Director at Forrester. “From the outset, it was evident that she was set up for limited success as the company’s CEO. Her background and actual authority positioned her more as the chief advertising officer than the CEO.”
Even her de facto role as the chief advertising director was hindered by Musk’s incessant posting, impulsive decisions, and his fixation on what he deemed “woke” ideologies, posing a significant challenge for Yaccarino.
“The surprising aspect of Linda Yaccarino’s resignation is that it didn’t come sooner,” Proulx remarked.
Just this week, Grok, an AI chatbot integrated with X, shared multiple anti-Semitic comments glorifying Hitler after the introduction of new guidelines for the chatbot. According to regulations issued by Xai, Grok was instructed to make politically incorrect claims as long as they were “well-proven.” Xai removed these guidelines from the code shortly thereafter.
Yaccarino’s tenure at the helm of X has been marred by the fallout from anti-Semitism scandals involving Musk’s tweets and Grok, compounded by several accusations of anti-Semitism against her boss during her brief tenure. In 2023, the non-profit watchdog Center for Countering Digital Hate released a report detailing the increase of anti-Semitic and other hate speech. The company’s response was to sue the organization, a case that was ultimately dismissed. Similarly, the issue of American nonprofit media highlighted the rise of pro-Nazi tweets, along with branded advertisements, in a report preceding the exit of major advertisers from the platform.
Noteworthy was Musk’s alleged Nazi salute at Trump’s inauguration rally in early 2025. Musk dismissed this claim, joking about it on X with Nazi-themed puns. Musk’s humor further damaged the platform’s reputation, contributing to a noticeable rightward shift that prompted many users to migrate to alternative platforms like Bluesky and Reddit communities, where X’s links started being banned.
The promise of X’s activation
Upon joining X, Yaccarino aimed to forge partnerships with celebrities to revitalize the social network’s brand and mend the damage inflicted by Musk’s controversial acquisition. Musk had long envisioned creating X as an “everything app” blending payments, AI, messaging, live streaming, and other features while also assigning Yaccarino the task of enhancing public posts for the network.
Yaccarino sought media personalities for platform features, leading a delegation of executives, including Musk, to engage with industry leaders at the Cannes Lions Festival in 2023.
After the newsletter promotion
One of Yaccarino’s initiatives aimed at creating a platform she envisioned as a “global town square,” as she reached out to former CNN host Don Lemon and welcomed former Fox News host Tucker Carlson to contribute content. The inaugural interview on Lemon’s platform was with Musk, designed to showcase X’s shift to attract prominent creators. However, the plan faltered when the conversation shifted to contentious topics, leading to Musk informing Lemon’s agent that his contract had been terminated. Future collaborations with high-profile creators were never realized.
Over the next two years, instead of becoming the mainstream streaming powerhouse or “all apps” destination that Yaccarino had promoted, X devolved into a platform primarily for Musk to amplify his grievances, collaborate with Trump, and promote his ventures. Far-right influencer Porn Spam Bot meme accounts proliferated, leaving numerous media outlets marginalized or entirely excluded from the platform. Misinformation and extremism surged, occasionally originating from Musk himself.
The day before Yaccarino resigned, X became embroiled in a scandal encapsulating much of the platform’s evolution. Musk announced plans to revamp Xai’s chatbot, Grok. On Tuesday, users observed that the chatbot began replying to inquiries with overtly anti-Semitic comments glorifying Nazi ideology. An outpouring of users began sharing screenshots of Grok endorsing rape fantasies while referring to themselves as “Mechahitler,” prompting the company to delete the offensive posts.
Incidents like Grok’s venture into Nazism contributed to Yaccarino’s struggles to revitalize X. While she successfully attracted some major companies to resume advertising last year, the platform’s advertising revenue never approached pre-Musk levels, as suggested by research from eMarketer. Furthermore, it was reported that the platform had threatened large companies like Verizon with legal action if they did not purchase ads. This claim was categorically denied by Jaccarino in a Wall Street Journal report.
After two years of damage control over numerous issues with Musk and the platform, Musk issued a brief statement acknowledging her resignation.
“Thank you for your contribution,” Musk commented on Yaccarino’s resignation announcement. Moments later, he began responding to posts about SpaceX, AI, and his chatbot’s anti-Semitic incidents.
Source: www.theguardian.com
