Musk faces criticism for choosing WEF leader, a proponent of content moderation, to head Twitter.
Elon Musk Taps Linda Yaccarino as New CEO of Twitter
Twitter users are expressing concern over the appointment of Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter, replacing Elon Musk. Yaccarino, who previously served as the chair of global advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal, has connections to the World Economic Forum and has endorsed content moderation.
Connections to World Economic Forum
Yaccarino chairs the Taskforce on Future of Work and sits on the Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry Governors Steering Committee for the World Economic Forum. The organization is known for promoting stakeholder capitalism, which encourages executives to consider the needs of employees, communities, and other parties in addition to shareholders. Musk has criticized the World Economic Forum in the past for trying to control the entire planet.
Ad Council and COVID Vaccine Campaign
Yaccarino also served as board chair for the Ad Council, which creates public service announcements for nonprofits and governments. She partnered with the Biden administration to launch a campaign featuring Pope Francis to promote COVID vaccines.
No Shadow Bans for Conservatives
Musk has assured Twitter users that Yaccarino will not institute shadow bans that frequently targeted conservatives under the previous management of Twitter. However, the phrase “RIP Twitter” trended on the platform after Musk announced her appointment.
Content Moderation and Advertising
In an interview with Yaccarino last month, Musk was pressed to amend his own spontaneous use of the platform and contended that advertisers “need to feel that there is an opportunity for them to influence” the site with respect to “content moderation.” Yaccarino and Musk clashed as she asked Musk to reinstitute the “well populated, much loved influence council” that existed before he purchased the company last year. Musk countered that he would be “worried about creating a backlash among the public” should they believe that “their views are being determined” by a handful of elite marketing executives.
Musk acquired Twitter at the end of last year in order to reserve a corner of the public square for open dialogue. He introduced a new revenue structure based on subscriptions rather than advertisements after a number of companies ended their relationships with the platform at the behest of leftist organizations, dealing a significant blow to the business.
“Twitter has had a massive drop in revenue, due to activist groups pressuring advertisers, even though nothing has changed with content moderation and we did everything we could to appease the activists,” Musk remarked on the platform. “Extremely messed up! They’re trying to destroy free speech in America.”
Despite concerns, Yaccarino has been confirmed as the new CEO of Twitter, with Musk focusing primarily on product design and technology.
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