X CEO Linda Yaccarino is publicly backing Elon Musk after she pointedly told advertisers who were leaving X to “go screw yourself” during an on-stage interview at The New York Times DealBook Summit yesterday. Musk, who in recent days has championed anti-Semitic content on the platform along with other conspiracy theories such as the debunked Pizzagate, has threatened lawsuits against Media Matters, the Center to Combat Digital Hate and the Anti-Defamation League, alleging that their reports scare off advertisers. the platform.
In yesterday’s interview, Musk apologized for his recent actions, saying he “gave a loaded gun to my haters” and that he was “very sorry.” He later referred to his anti-Semitic post as “one of the dumbest—if not the dumbest—things I’ve done on the platform.”
X’s post, combined with reports that advertiser content was appearing alongside hate speech, including anti-Semitic content, led to a significant advertiser exodus that led big-name brands including Apple, Disney, Comcast, IBM and others to leave the platform. Paris Hilton’s 11:11 Media deal with X was also cancelled, which would have seen the celebrity and influencer promote X properties, including live video, audio and e-commerce opportunities for brands.
Although most of X’s revenue still comes from advertising — which is why Musk brought in a high-profile former NBCU ad executive as X’s CEO in the first place — the Tesla and SpaceX executive has continued to impulsively publish outrageous content on the platform, while also recently endorsing an anti-Semitic post with his responses. This behavior has also made brands uncomfortable as they don’t want their ads anywhere near hate speech.
Although X had promised advertisers a new system that would allow them to choose the level of security for their brand, Media Matters’ latest report showed that the technology was hardly infallible. He found that it was easy for ads to appear next to hateful and toxic content. And now it seems the X owner is dealing with increasingly controversial content himself.
Although Yaccarino would seemingly be in the unpleasant position of having to smooth things over with advertisers, she instead took to X to support Musk’s statements.
In a Position on the platform he wrote:
Today @elonmusk gave a wide-ranging and candid interview on @dealbook 2023. He also offered an apology, an explanation, and a clear take on our position. X allows for an independence of information that is uncomfortable for some people. We are a platform that allows people to make their own decisions. And here’s my take on advertising: X stands at a unique and amazing intersection of Free Speech and Main Street — and the X community is strong and here to welcome you. To our partners who believe in our essential work — Thank you.
Her comments essentially confirm Musk’s position that advertisers who are uncomfortable with X’s “free speech” positioning have no business coming to X. It’s just wrong to tell companies whose primary goals are the safety of brand and who don’t want to pick sides in an ideological war over online discourse and X’s moderation — or lack thereof.
It’s also a change from how he had previously responded to Musk’s posts. After the Media Matters reports went public, Yaccarino responded by promoting X’s “efforts to combat anti-Semitism and discrimination” in an internal memo to staff. When Musk endorsed an anti-Semitic post as “the real truth,” she didn’t comment directly and continued to post other X news on her feed — like the development of Community Notes or the push to use X from the OpenAI drama that X took place. This would lead one to believe that he was acting behind the scenes to keep X’s advertising deals.
But now, Musk has backed her into a corner. Telling advertisers to go fuck themselves, he either has to come to terms with his feelings or quit – as well as resign as CEO of X. Although reports said that many of her colleagues in the advertising industry pressured her to choose the latterYaccarino doubles down on X, for better or for worse.
