Since Elon Musk acquired Twitter, the company has been relatively quiet when it comes to media appearances and comments from its executives. However, recently, two of Twitter’s executives made rare public appearances, including Musk’s handpicked CEO Linda Yaccarino. Unfortunately, their appearances did not go well.
The controversy began when X’s head of global government affairs, Nick Pickles, defended the reinstatement of a right-wing influencer who had posted child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the platform. The influencer, Dom Lucre, had been suspended in late July, but his followers demanded his reinstatement and an explanation for his suspension.
In response to a user questioning Lucre’s suspension, Musk explained that Lucre had been suspended for posting child exploitation pictures associated with a criminal conviction. Musk stated that they would remove the post but reinstate Lucre’s account, which they did on the same day.
During an Australian parliamentary hearing, Pickles claimed that the company has a “zero tolerance” approach to CSAM but stated that enforcement is different for the account that posted the child exploitation material. He argued that Lucre had posted the material to express outrage, not to support it. However, Australian lawmakers were not convinced by this explanation.
In a video interview with CNBC, X CEO Linda Yaccarino discussed the future of X, the rebrand from Twitter, and working under Elon Musk. Yaccarino claimed to have autonomy from Musk and stated that she runs the business end of things while Musk handles the product. She promoted X as an “everything app” and revealed plans for video calls and payments between users. Yaccarino referred to the rebrand as a liberation from Twitter and its “legacy mindset.”
During the interview, Yaccarino was asked about bringing brands and advertisers back to X despite the presence of conspiracy theories and hate speech on the platform. She claimed that X is now a healthier and safer platform than it was a year ago, emphasizing the company’s motto of “freedom of speech, not reach.”
However, there are studies and real-world examples that contradict Yaccarino’s claims. The case of Dom Lucre’s reinstatement is a prime example. Despite posting illegal child exploitation material, Lucre was reinstated on the platform, and an X executive defended the decision. This happened just hours before the CNBC interview was published.
Yaccarino stated that if users post something illegal, they will be removed from the platform with zero tolerance. However, in Lucre’s case, his illegal content was not de-amplified or demonetized. In fact, his post received millions of views before it was finally taken down.
Furthermore, Lucre claimed to be one of the first users selected by X for the creator monetization program, which allows users to receive payment for their content. This contradicts Yaccarino’s claim that users who post awful but lawful content will be labeled, de-amplified, and demonetized.
The rare public appearances of two X executives shed light on the company’s handling of controversial content and its claims of being a safer platform. The inconsistencies between their statements and the reality of the platform raise concerns about X’s commitment to addressing issues such as CSAM and hate speech.
Overall, it is clear why these public appearances are rare for X executives. The controversies surrounding the platform’s handling of illegal and harmful content undermine their credibility and raise questions about the company’s commitment to creating a safe and responsible online environment.
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