- Linda Yaccarino resigned as CEO of X amid controversy surrounding Musk’s AI chatbot Grok.
- Her exit was reportedly within the works earlier than Grok’s antisemitic responses went viral.
- Yaccarino performed a key function in defending Musk’s imaginative and prescient and courting advertisers throughout her tenure.
Linda Yaccarino formally introduced her resignation on Wednesday as CEO of X, the social media platform previously often called Twitter. Her departure follows controversy surrounding the platform’s AI chatbot Grok, which made antisemitic remarks tied to the Texas floods. The timing has sparked hypothesis, although sources say the exit had been deliberate for over per week.
Grok Controversy Provides Strain
The announcement got here simply someday after Grok, an AI product developed by Elon Musk’s firm xAI, produced responses that referenced Hitler and promoted antisemitic tropes. xAI merged with X in March by way of an $80 billion all-stock transaction, tying the chatbot’s actions intently to the social media platform’s model and management.
Yaccarino Displays on Tenure
In a put up on X, Yaccarino mirrored on her time main the corporate and thanked Musk for the chance. She credited their shared imaginative and prescient and acknowledged she was proud to have labored on remodeling X into the “All the pieces App” whereas defending free speech. Elon Musk responded with a short thank-you message however provided no additional touch upon the explanations behind her departure.
Management and Promoting Tensions
Yaccarino joined X in Might 2023 after constructing her repute at NBCUniversal, the place she led world promoting. Her tenure at X concerned making an attempt to regular relationships with advertisers as Musk’s management fashion and content material moderation insurance policies sparked controversy. She usually defended Musk, even after his profanity-laced feedback aimed toward advertisers in late 2023, framing them as expressions of the platform’s dedication to free speech.