X CEO Linda Yaccarino and X owner and chief technology officer Elon Musk
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Linda Yaccarino’s efforts to reassure companies about X are being undermined by Elon Musk.Yaccarino released a statement on Thursday saying X is working to combat antisemitism.However, one day before her post, Musk supported an antisemitic conspiracy theory on the platform.
Linda Yaccarino’s efforts to reassure companies that X is safe for brands are being undermined by Elon Musk’s actions.
Yaccarino, the CEO of X, took to X to share a statement on Thursday, writing that the platform is against discrimination and has been “extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination.”
X’s point of view has always been very clear that discrimination by everyone should STOP across the board — I think that’s something we can and should all agree on. When it comes to this platform — X has also been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and…
— Linda Yaccarino (@lindayaX) November 16, 2023
However, just a day before Yaccarino’s post, Musk supported an antisemitic conspiracy theory on X, which claimed that Jewish communities are pushing hate against White people.
“You have said the actual truth,” wrote Musk.
Musk’s comment quickly drew backlash. Facebook cofounder Dustin Moskovitz called on him to resign, and Tesla investor Ross Gerber said he would be replacing his Tesla car with a Rivian next year.
The contrast between Yaccarino’s statement and Musk’s post was not lost on platform users.
One person wrote in the comments, “You should tell your boss.” The sentiment was echoed by the majority of responses across the 5,000 comments on the post.
Ma’am, your boss is describing posts that reference “hordes of minorities” as “the actual truth” and criticizing “Jewish communities” for promoting “hatred towards whites.” https://t.co/tG6PIK12lV https://t.co/VWqtI32Jxz
— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) November 16, 2023
Yaccarino’s post on X came after IBM released a statement to the Financial Times on Thursday, saying it had “zero tolerance for hate speech and discrimination” and was pulling all advertising from X.
IBM made the announcement after nonprofit watchdog Media Matters on Wednesday shared screenshots of ads from tech titans — including IBM, Apple, and Comcast — being placed alongside pro-Nazi content.
An executive at X told Business Insider that the accounts highlighted by Media Matters for posting pro-Nazi content would no longer be monetizable. The executive added that Media Matters was actively looking for such content.
Since assuming the role of CEO at X in June, Yaccarino — a former NBCUniversal executive — has focused on trying to reassure companies about brand safety on X. That message has, at times, seemed undermined by Musk himself.
In July, Musk announced controversial rate limits to X. Ad experts told Reuters the move would hurt Yaccarino’s attempts at salvaging the company. “This move signals to the marketplace that he’s not capable of empowering her to save him from himself,” media veteran Lou Paskalis told Reuters.
At the Vox Media Code Conference in October, Yaccarino appeared surprised when asked about Musk saying he would introduce a paywall to use X.
Yaccarino failed to answer the question, and when asked about whether she was consulted about it, added, “We talk about everything.”
At the same event, Yaccarino also denied that the company was disbanding its election integrity team, saying it was “robust and growing,” hours after Musk tweeted, “they’re gone.”