Latest news with #LindaYaccarino
Yahoo
5 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
CEO of Twitter Suddenly Departing After Grok's "MechaHitler" Crisis
After spending just over two years justifying Elon Musk's disastrous ownership over X-formerly-Twitter, CEO Linda Yaccarino has finally had enough. The former media exec announced her resignation on Wednesday, less than 24 hours after Musk's Grok AI chatbot went on an incredibly racist tirade, calling itself "MechaHitler" and attacking Black and Jewish people in astonishingly hateful terms. "When Elon Musk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company," Yaccarino tweeted. "I'm immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App." It's a baffling new development, especially considering the timing. While we still don't know the exact reason for her sudden departure, it's entirely possible Grok's latest Nazi meltdown could've been a factor. Since Musk bought the platform for a whopping $44 billion in 2022, the site has become unrecognizable. Twitter, which Musk renamed to X in 2023, opened up the floodgates to hate speech and disinformation by systematically dismantling its already woefully inadequate guardrails and content moderation efforts. Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal executive, was brought on at a time when the site's ad sales started cratering. Adverstisers were spooked by Musk's repeated antisemitic outbursts and were unhappy being associated with literal Nazis on the platform. The subsequent advertiser exodus left an enormous hole in the company's already precarious finances, culminating in Musk admitting defeat in a January note to staff. "Our user growth is stagnant, revenue is unimpressive, and we're barely breaking even," he wrote at the time. In other words, Yaccarino, brought on as a fixer of broken relationships, had her work cut out to encourage advertisers to return to Musk's hate speech incubator. Mere months into her stint as the company's CEO, colleagues from the advertising industry were already privately advising Yaccarino to jump ship to save herself following Musk's hateful outbursts. "I think the advertising community is now working to save the reputation of a beloved member of our industry who does not share Elon Musk's views and certainly did not know them when she accepted the role of CEO," marketing consultant Lou Paskalis told Axios in 2023. Yaccarino went on to serve as X's CEO for another year and a half, repeatedly siding with Musk throughout numerous crises, many of which were the direct result of the billionaire's own actions. In short, the legacy Yaccarino leaves behind is bizarre and contradictory, much like Musk himself. Last month, Yaccarino claimed that 96 percent of advertising clients prior to Musk's acquisition had come back to the platform, promising that the company would return to its 2022 advertising goals "super soon." But especially now that she has abruptly left the company, and Grok calls for a "second Holocaust," that goal seems as distant as ever. More on Twitter: Grok Mocks Its Developers as They Try to Delete Its Incredibly Racist Posts Solve the daily Crossword
Bloomberg
17-07-2025
- Business
- Bloomberg
Stocks Charge to Fresh Record After Strong Treasury Auction
Good morning. The S&P 500 breaks through the ceiling again. Linda Yaccarino's departure may mark a new dawn for X. And the original Birkin bag sells for a record €8.58 million at auction. Listen to the day's top stories. The S&P 500 raised the bar again. The index hit another high, lifted by soaring airline stocks and Tesla's Robotaxi-fueled gains. A $22 billion sale of 30-year Treasuries showed no letup in longer-term debt appetite despite concerns about a ballooning US deficit and the impacts of Donald Trump's tariffs. Bitcoin extended its record-breaking rally for a second day, with options traders already setting their sights on much higher prices.
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Linda Yaccarino Stepping Down As CEO Of X
Linda Yaccarino is exiting X. The former NBCUniversal exec who made headlines two years ago by jumping to X, formerly Twitter, in the wake of Elon Musk's $44 billion acquisition of the platform, announced her departure Wednesday in a post. More from Deadline WGA East & West Leave Elon Musk's X Following "Racist And Antisemitic Language" From AI Tool Grok Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Praises Hitler & Makes Other Offensive Remarks On X Tubi Hires Two Snap Inc. Alums For Key Ad Sales Positions 'After two incredible years, I've decided to step down as CEO of X,' Yaccarino posted on X. 'When @elonmusk and I first spoke of his vision for X, I knew it would be the opportunity of a lifetime to carry out the extraordinary mission of this company. I'm immensely grateful to him for entrusting me with the responsibility of protecting free speech, turning the company around, and transforming X into the Everything App.' Musk's terse reply: 'Thank you for your contributions.' The exit came less than a day after Grok, the chatbot created by sister company xAI, stirred up an online furor by spewing antisemitic and Hitler-praising content on X. Speculation swirled Wednesday about the connection between the hate speech episode and Yaccarino's departure, but her role had already been affected by Musk merging X with xAI last March. That deal valued X at $33 billion, Musk said at the time. When Musk let slip that Yaccarino was coming aboard X (in the middle of rehearsals for NBCU's annual upfront presentation at Radio City Music Hall, no less), the news stunned her colleagues and much of the media, tech and business world. Since the beginning, Twitter's financial health had never been particularly robust. Even so, Musk's acquisition came as a shock, or rather a series of jolts. It was preceded by legal battles as he fought to extricate himself from the proposed deal, and then caused thousands of job losses and chaos on the platform, taking a toll on ad revenue, though it has recently been on the rise. Yaccarino came in as a widely respected rainmaker in the traditional ad business, but even her most ardent supporters questioned how her energy would mesh with the brute force of Musk. Given Musk's stature as the world's richest person, maximizing profits has never been the primary goal, but his off-the-cuff style and propensity for tweeting dozens of times a day created non-stop challenges for Yaccarino. With an army of 222 million followers, his social voice and willingness to traffic in objectionable content or conspiracy theories proved a major hurdle to advertisers. After a number of them, including Disney, backed away, Musk taunted them at the 2023 New York Times DealBook conference, telling anyone boycotting the platform to 'go f–k yourself.' Yaccarino made efforts to expand the scope of X's revenue, amplifying video and rolling out subscriptions, but the company has fallen well behind Meta, TikTok and other social rivals. She made a series of content deals with high-profile personalities to host shows on Twitter and renewed a major content agreement with the NFL. She took heat as X ended most content moderation efforts and welcomed back a host of disreputable users whose accounts had been deactivated by the previous owners. Yaccarino made things more difficult for herself in September 2023 with a poorly reviewed appearance at the Code conference, which spurred rumors that she was unlikely to last in the CEO role. Here is Yaccarino's full farewell message: Best of Deadline 'Stick' Release Guide: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 'Stick' Soundtrack: All The Songs You'll Hear In The Apple TV+ Golf Series 'Wednesday' Season 2: Everything We Know About The Cast, Premiere Date & More
Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
After Linda Yaccarino's Departure As X CEO, Will Elon Musk Once Again Flip Off Advertisers In Favor Of AI?
In her last public appearance as CEO of X, Linda Yaccarino sat down last month at the Cannes Lions advertising conference with tennis great Serena Williams. Along with touting Williams' forthcoming X podcast, the pair found common ground in their experiences with the social media platform long known as Twitter. The exchange took on new resonance this week in light of Yaccarino's departure from the company. More from Deadline Elon Musk's AI Chatbot Grok Praises Hitler & Makes Other Offensive Remarks On X WGA East & West Leave Elon Musk's X Following 'Racist And Antisemitic Language' From AI Tool Grok Judge Rules Don Lemon Can Proceed With Claims In Lawsuit Against Elon Musk's X Williams recalled being motivated to win an Australian Open, one of her 23 major singles titles, by a random tweet telling her she was 'washed up' and soon to fade from the sport. 'When I read that, I knew instantly that I was going to win,' she said. 'I wish I had just screenshotted it and then @-ed him with a picture of the trophy.' Yaccarino's engagement with X has been far more consuming, of course. Working for Musk, the richest person on Earth and commander of an army of 222 million followers, has 'been definitely not boring,' the former NBCUniversal sales chief said of her two-year tenure. Pointing to the crowd with a tight smile, she added, 'I see some folks out there who have leaned in and reached out to me and said, 'Keep going.' And you lean into that positivity.' The long-expected end of the line for Yaccarino followed the acquisition of X by Musk's AI company, xAI, last March. That set the wheels in motion for the CEO's departure, but it also has raised broader questions about strategic direction. Whoever steps into the CEO role (if anyone does) is unlikely to continue along Yaccarino's path. While her farewell post on X said she and Musk had turned the platform into an 'everything app,' that claim isn't yet actually true. Her main forte has always been advertising, and an ability to leverage a large network built over 30 years at NBCU and Turner with a tenacious but polished business approach. Reportedly over mounting objections from a Musk-appointed CFO, former Tubi exec Mahmoud Reza Banki, Yaccarino inked a number of splashy deals with sports leagues as well as notable talent. Along with Williams and her sister, Venus, X has forged ties with former Fox News personality Tucker Carlson and (for a hot minute) ex-CNN host Don Lemon. Advertising on X was jolted by the Musk acquisition for about 12 to 18 months in 2022 and 2023, given his firing of 80% of the company's workforce, abandonment of content moderation in the name of 'free speech' and willingness to amplify conspiracy theories and objectionable posts. Tensions boiled over in November 2023 when Musk told advertisers boycotting the platform over brand safety concerns to 'go f–k yourself' at a New York Times conference. After ad spending declined in Yaccarino's first year, she helped restore it enough by the end of her run (in part via legal threats against advertisers threatening to stay on the sidelines, according to the Wall Street Journal) that investors who helped fund Musk's $44 billion acquisition were said to have made their money back, at least on paper. Going forward, with xAI capable of raising significant funds and Musk committed to the AI race, speculation has been growing about X becoming more of a seedbed of AI research than the video ad vehicle Yaccarino envisioned. 'Linda's playbook was perfect for social media in its traditional form, but even without the constant drama with Musk, it's not clear that the strategy has a long future,' one former senior-level colleague told Deadline. Henry Innis, founder of marketing firm Mutinex, wrote in a Substack post that Yaccarino's exit 'is 'the most visible symptom of a strategic pivot of immense consequence. It suggests that Musk is not merely trying to fix X's advertising business, but is instead preparing to jettison the model that has powered social media for nearly two decades.' Content moderation and brand safety have been increasingly expensive for even large-scale players like Meta to fund, and the concurrent rush to spend heavily on AI means that there is likely to be a broader shift. AI tools are seen as being capable of realizing Musk's vision of 'everything apps' that are more service-based and less reliant on advertising, which has traditionally accounted for more than 90% of annual revenue for the major social players. 'Our company's now an AI company, so I'm not working for a social media company,' said Tim O'Mahony, director and head of international content for X during a Thursday conference about soccer held in Newark, NJ. Execs at xAI are working to create an 'everyday use case' and 'train the AI model to improve it to get better experiences for advertisers, for users, make it more brand-safe,' O'Mahony added. Musk is 'getting heavily involved with it now. So, we are learning with him.' The need for learning and improvement with generative AI, of course, became abundantly clear this week. Yaccarino's departure came a day after Grok, the chatbot created by xAI, spewed out a series of hateful and antisemitic posts, calling itself 'MechaHitler.' Yaccarino, striving to shine more positive light on the platform in the Cannes conversation with Williams, asked why she and her sister chose X as the home of their podcast. The response was revealing. X 'is always a place where you can just say your thoughts and just be real,' Williams said, with a knowing chuckle. 'Obviously, you get a lot of feedback on those thoughts, and a lot of them are honest and a little harsh. … But I love to look things in the eye. I love to look a challenge in the eye and face it.' Yaccarino nodded along and said 'we need more of that' when Williams said her podcast would feature gossip of a positive nature. She also would likely have endorsed O'Mahony's line this week. Intended as a mission statement, it could have been a description of the chaotic atmosphere inside X, whose agenda is continuously refreshed by the impetuous Musk: 'We say, 'today's timeline is tomorrow's headline.'' Best of Deadline 'The Buccaneers' Season 2 Release Schedule: When Do New Episodes Come Out? 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Yahoo
15-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Linda Yaccarino's exit from X is a warning shot for any executive eyeing the corner office
By all appearances, Linda Yaccarino had reached the apex of corporate ambition: the CEO seat at one of the world's most talked-about platforms. But less than two years after taking the helm at X, she's stepping down with her credibility bruised, her influence questioned, and her reputation potentially beyond repair. When Yaccarino, a respected ad industry veteran and former NBCUniversal executive, joined X (then Twitter) in June 2023, her mandate was clear: revive a decimated ad business and restore stability to a platform engulfed in tumult. But from day one, the power dynamics were lopsided. Elon Musk retained both operational control and the cultural spotlight, relegating Yaccarino to a reactive posture, often defending or cleaning up after the very person who hired her. During her tenure, X became a case study in brand erosion: antisemitic content, advertiser boycotts, viral misinformation, and ads appearing next to pro-Nazi posts. Instead of serving as a bridge back to the advertising community she once championed, Yaccarino's X turned adversarial, suing industry groups and reportedly threatening major brands. It's hard to imagine she didn't know what she was signing up for. Musk's volatile leadership style was well documented, as was his public humiliation of former CEO Parag Agrawal, whom Musk mocked and reportedly ousted in a deliberate attempt to avoid paying out vested stock. The likelier argument is that Yaccarino understood the risk but took it anyway, betting that the cachet of the role would outweigh the downside. And that's the deeper lesson here. The CEO title offers power, prestige, and pay. But not every CEO job is worth having, especially if it compromises credibility, erodes professional relationships, or aligns one's personal brand with someone else's chaos. In the end, Yaccarino didn't get the full upside of the CEO role, but she certainly got the liabilities. For executives eyeing the corner office, the takeaway is sobering: Never be so eager for the glass tower gig that you forget the value of your reputation. Unlike a job title, it can't be replaced. Ruth This story was originally featured on Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
