Linda Yaccarino Exits X Amidst Unfulfilled Goals & Platform Challenges

Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, leaving behind a tenure marked by significant hurdles and a perceived failure to achieve many of the ambitious goals she set out to accomplish.

Her departure follows a period of intense scrutiny, including the recent controversy surrounding X’s Grok chatbot, which sparked outrage after generating antisemitic content and controversial statements. In her farewell message, Yaccarino thanked Elon Musk for the “responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.” She also highlighted “critical early work” on user safety, particularly for children, and hinted at the imminent arrival of the “X Money” payment platform.

However, an examination of her claims, in the spirit of X’s own Community Notes, reveals a challenging reality.

Protecting Free Speech: A Contradictory Landscape

Elon Musk, a self-proclaimed “free speech absolutist,” acquired Twitter in 2022 with the stated aim of making it the global platform for free expression. Yet, Yaccarino’s time at the helm saw X navigating a complex and often contradictory path on this front.

• Despite earlier content policy shifts under Musk that led to the reinstatement of controversial accounts, X has reportedly complied with government censorship requests abroad. This includes orders to block accounts and posts in countries like Turkey, a practice X stated it would object to in court, yet executed.
• The platform, under Yaccarino, has also faced criticism for actions seemingly at odds with its free speech mantra in the U.S. This includes blocking links to a hacked document reportedly flagged by the Trump campaign and temporarily suspending a journalist who published it.
• X has also been accused of blocking links to competitors like Signal and throttling access to certain news sites.
• Musk, with X, initiated lawsuits against critics such as Media Matters and the Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH) for highlighting extremism on the platform. A judge notably described the CCDH lawsuit as a “clear attempt at punishing the Defendants for their speech.”

Turning the Company Around: Downward Trends Persist

As the former ad executive brought in to stabilize X’s business operations, Yaccarino faced the immense task of revitalizing the platform’s financial health and user engagement. Official metrics remain scarce, but available data suggests a struggle to reverse downward trends.

• While Musk claimed X had “600 million monthly active users” in May 2024, and Yaccarino cited a “12% jump in time spent” in March 2024, digital intelligence platform Similarweb tells a different story. Data indicates a significant loss of active users during Yaccarino’s leadership, with the platform dropping from 388.5 million users (iOS and Android apps) in June 2023 to 311.1 million last month—a decline of over 75 million.
• Yaccarino’s primary mission was to mend relationships with advertisers strained by incidents such as Musk’s endorsement of controversial content and his infamous “go fuck yourself” comment to advertisers. While Apple did return to advertise on X, and eMarketer projected ad growth for 2025, some analysts suggest this recovery might be influenced more by Musk’s shifting political relationships, making long-term success uncertain.
• Further indicating a lack of turnaround, the valuation of X dropped significantly. Acquired by Musk for $44 billion in 2022, X was valued at $33 billion on paper earlier this year when Musk’s xAI company absorbed it.

Transforming X into the “Everything App”: A Distant Vision

Musk’s long-standing ambition to convert X into a WeChat-like “Everything App” remains largely unrealized. Despite Yaccarino’s assurances, the platform largely functions as a social media network, much like its predecessor.

• Though new, minor features like audio/voice calls and a vertical video tab have been introduced, the highly anticipated “X Money” payments system, which Yaccarino announced would arrive “later this year” in January, has yet to materialize.
• The integration of X into Musk’s AI company and Yaccarino’s departure cast doubt on the feature’s priority, especially with a new head of product reportedly focused on less serious endeavors.
• The Grok chatbot’s recent performance, updated to be “politically incorrect” just before Yaccarino’s announced departure, resulted in the propagation of antisemitic content and praise for Hitler, leading to the suspension of its text responses.

Prioritizing User Safety: Ongoing Challenges

User safety and content moderation present an ongoing battle for nearly every major platform. However, under Yaccarino, there is little clear evidence of significant progress in rebuilding X’s trust and safety infrastructure, which Musk had reportedly deprioritized before her arrival.

• The Center for Countering Digital Hate (CCDH), which X sued for its criticisms, reported a flourishing of hateful content on the platform in late 2023.
• Yaccarino’s tenure also coincided with a flood of graphic AI-generated deepfakes of Taylor Swift in early 2024. One image garnered over 45 million views and remained live for approximately 17 hours, leading to new legislation to combat non-consensual AI pornography.
• Concerns about Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) persist. Despite X reporting an increase in account suspensions for child sexual exploitation in 2023, NBC News reported in June on accounts reportedly using hashtags to sell and advertise CSAM within X Communities. Alarmingly, X also unbanned a high-profile influencer in July 2023 who had been removed for posting a still from an infamous CSAM video.

What’s Next for X?

Linda Yaccarino’s profile now reads “Super Official eX CEO of X,” indicating her departure has already occurred, though no specific timeline was publicly given. Neither Yaccarino nor Musk has announced a successor.

One aspect has remained consistent throughout Yaccarino’s approximately two-year tenure: the pervasive influence of Elon Musk at the helm, shaping the platform’s direction and challenges.