Linda Yaccarino’s two-year tenure as CEO of X, now concluded, paints a clear picture of an executive seemingly used as a scapegoat for the platform’s ongoing issues under Elon Musk’s ownership. Hired in May 2023 to mend advertiser relationships after Musk’s chaotic acquisition of Twitter, Yaccarino’s efforts were undermined from the very outset. Musk’s antisemitic tweet and his defiant “Go fuck yourselves” to advertisers, delivered just weeks into her role, set a confrontational tone that left Yaccarino to manage the fallout.
Industry experts consistently viewed Yaccarino as a CEO in title only, with Elon Musk retaining absolute control over X’s operations. Mike Proulx, research director at Forrester VP, stated unequivocally: “The reality is that Elon Musk is and always has been at the helm of X.” Proulx suggested that Yaccarino’s actual role was more aligned with a chief advertising officer, a position made incredibly challenging by Musk’s “incessant posting, impulsive decision making and obsession with X and other platforms becoming too ‘woke’,” leaving Yaccarino to bear the brunt of the negative consequences.
Antisemitism scandals were a persistent and damaging feature of Yaccarino’s time at X. From Musk’s initial controversial remarks to the recent scandal involving X’s AI chatbot, Grok, generating pro-Nazi content, the platform continually faced accusations of fostering hate speech. The company’s aggressive lawsuits against watchdogs like the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Media Matters for America, coupled with Musk’s alleged Nazi salutes, further solidified X’s reputation as a platform increasingly aligned with far-right ideologies, with Yaccarino often left to publicly defend or remain silent.
Despite Yaccarino’s ambitious plans to transform X into an “everything app” and a “global town square” by attracting high-profile talent and fostering partnerships, these goals largely failed to materialize. The abrupt cancellation of the Don Lemon show, a key initiative, after Musk’s interference, underscored how her strategies were consistently undermined. Instead of a revitalized social network, X largely became a platform for Musk’s personal pronouncements, rife with misinformation, and struggling with significantly reduced ad revenues, making her role appear that of a convenient scapegoat.