Elon Musk to Step Down as Twitter CEO
Elon Musk has announced that he has appointed Linda Yaccarino to be the new CEO of Twitter.
According to Musk, Yaccarino will focus on the business operations of the company while he will transition to being executive chairman and Chief Technical Officer. The new CEO is expected to start in approximately six weeks.
Musk previously promised he would step down as Twitter CEO last December after a poll that asked users whether or not he should step down as the head of Twitter resulted in a majority of people responding “yes.” Musk went on to state that he will resign as CEO once he finds an individual to be named his successor.
Yaccarino has previously worked for NBC for over ten years. She has been the global chair for advertising and partnerships, and was the head of NBC Universal’s advertising sales. According to the Wall Street Journal, Yaccarino is known for being a key factor in the launch of NBC’s streaming service Peacock.
The new CEO’s background presumably interested Musk, who has an interest in broadening the capabilities of Twitter. Last April, Musk merged Twitter with his firm “X Corp,” a move similar to Facebook rebranding to “Meta.” Musk has stated that he plans on making Twitter an “everything app” that specifically includes video content. With influential commentators like Tucker Carlson and Matt Walsh moving their shows to Twitter, it is likely that Twitter was grow as a competitor to other video streaming services like YouTube and Rumble.
Given Twitter’s leadership history, many on the right have concerns over the political affiliation of the company’s executives, as well as their views on the first amendment. Yaccarino is garnering criticism primarily for her connection with the World Economic Forum. Yaccarino is both the Chairman of the WEF’s Taskforce on Future of Work and a member of the WEF’s Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry Governors Steering Committee. She also has a history of endorsing diversity quotas for hiring.
But according to Vox, several sources have stated that Yaccarino is well-known in the news industry for her conservative political viewpoints. Yaccarino served on former President Trump’s council of Sports Fitness and Nutrition and follows many prominent conservatives on her social media.
Given that Yaccarino is endorsed by Musk, who has proven to protect free speech on his platform, it is likely that Yaccarino will continue the trend of allowing open dialogue and competing viewpoints on Twitter. But time will tell how new leadership decides to supervise content on the social media app.
