Ad Executives Encourage X CEO Linda Yaccarino to Resign After Elon Musk’s Anti-Semitic Embrace
New York –
A ‘groundswell’ of advertising executives have urged X chief executive Linda Yaccarino to resign from her post at the struggling social media company following an exodus of advertisers and scrutiny of owner Elon Musk’s anti-Semitic remarks on the platform, according to marketing industry veteran Lou. Paskalis.
“I texted him yesterday after thinking about it for a long time saying that,” Paskalis, founder and chief executive of marketing consultancy AJL Advisory, told CNN on Monday, adding that others in the industry had done so. likewise. “My advice was to leave before his reputation is tarnished.”
Yaccarino, a former NBCUniversal executive, joined the company formerly known as Twitter earlier this year to help revive its advertising business. Hundreds of major brands suspended ad spending after Musk’s acquisition due to concerns about content moderation and the future of the platform under the eccentric billionaire’s leadership.
But at least half a dozen major advertisers, including media giants Disney, Paramount and NBCUniversal, suspended spending on X on Friday. IBM also suspended advertising on the platform after its advertising appeared alongside pro-Nazi content. The decision to abandon the platform follows criticism of Elon Musk for publicly espousing an anti-Semitic conspiracy theory favored by white supremacists.
“She thinks quitting is a failure…She believes she can make Elon Musk into someone who could be respected by the advertising community, and that ship has definitely sailed,” said Paskalis. “But she’s not going to get rid of the mechanical bull without all of us telling her, ‘It’s time to go.’ And I think there was a groundswell of a lot of people like me saying, “Save yourself.”
Yaccarino said that, for now, she’s not going anywhere.
“I believe deeply in our vision, in our team and in our community,” she says. job Monday morning on the quay. “I am also deeply committed to the truth and there is no other team on earth that works as hard as the teams at X.”
In a letter to employees sent Sunday evening and seen by CNN, Yaccarino also reaffirmed his commitment to the company’s work.
“Our work is essential, but it is not always easy,” she said. “What we do is important, which means it naturally invites criticism from those who don’t share our beliefs.”
Yaccarino also said that X had taken steps to “combat anti-Semitism and discrimination,” as she told employees in Sunday’s letter. The company this weekend accused Media Matters – the progressive media watchdog that first reported that ads for IBM and other major brands were running alongside pro-Nazi content – of aggressively seeking such content in a manner that “distorts the actual user experience” and could “mislead advertisers.” (Media Matters pushed back on this claim.)
However,
“No amount of criticism will ever deter us from our mission to protect free speech,” Yaccarino said in Sunday’s letter.
