Linda Yaccarino is living in a world of delusion.
The Twitter/X figurehead on Thursday made a number of wild — and outright laughable — claims about the Elon Musk-owned company where she holds the title (at least on paper) as chief executive, seemingly unaware of the grim state of affairs at the imperiled platform.
During a lengthy sit-down interview with CNBC's Sara Eisen, Yaccarino described the one-time bird platform as if everything were not only swell, but in a better position since Musk's chaotic takeover and reign.
Yaccarino fantastically spoke about Twitter — which has had a summer of extreme difficulty carrying out basic functions, such as displaying tweets and hosting live-audio feeds — and proclaimed the app would soon dive into the world of effortless video calls and seamless online payment processing.
The former NBCUniversal chief also effectively pretended that Twitter's erratic rebrand to X had been executed beautifully, telling Eisen that it was a positive "liberation" for the company, and not a half-baked move that instantly discarded billions in brand value. During the interview, she notably referred to posts on the platform as "tweets" and not "Xs," or whatever they're supposed to be called these days. Oops!
But perhaps an even more preposterous claim from Yaccarino came when Eisen pressed her on brand safety and hate speech appearing on the platform since Musk's takeover. Yaccarino, who was once considered a serious person in the industry, said with a straight face that "99.9%" of the content posted on the platform is "healthy."
"By all objective metrics," Yaccarino told Eisen, "X is a much healthier and safer platform than it was a year ago."
Uh, what?!?!
It's unclear precisely what data Yaccarino was referring to. But a slew of studies from noted researchers over the last year have shown exactly the opposite of what she confidently claimed. Organizations such as the Anti-Defamation League, Center for Countering Digital Hate, Institute for Strategic Dialogue, and other researchers have all released their own respective reports conveying a similar message: hate speech is up, not down, under Musk.
Just as Yaccarino was sitting down with Eisner, the revered security group, Secure Community Network, sent an open-eyed letter to Musk, warning rhetoric on his platform might "incite violence" against the Jewish community. "Hashtags such as #holohoax and #killthejews still drive users to antisemitic and violent content," the organization sternly warned, adding that the platform has "more cleaning up to do."
Even two of the specific examples Yaccarino pointed to supposedly showcasing a positive experience for advertisers were quickly shot down Thursday. Yaccarino celebrated Coca-Cola and State Farm marketing their products on Twitter/X, as she underscored the platform's commitment to brand safety. But the progressive watchdog Media Matters quickly produced evidence showing that ads for both Coca-Cola and State Farm had actually been displayed adjacent to extremist and anti-vaccine material.
The reason for all the reprehensible content is clear. Under Musk's watch, the platform has welcomed back white nationalists, conspiracy theorists, anti-vaccine activists, and various other extremists with open arms. Musk, who rarely meets a conspiracy theory that he doesn't embrace, has also empowered these unpalatable users by happily boosting their content on his website for the monthly fee of $8.
In one recent and illustrative case, Musk reinstated a QAnon conspiracy theory promoting account that had been banned for posting child sex abuse imagery. The user was later rewarded with a $2,400 payout from the platform's ad revenue sharing program, according to a screenshot he posted.
Meanwhile, when Musk carelessly fired thousands of Twitter employees during his first few weeks on the job, he rid the company of many of the staffers tasked with the critical role of content moderation. And he has unequally enforced content moderation rules, seemingly with no regard for what his platform's written terms of service actually says.
All the while, Musk has smeared and undermined journalists and news organizations, which acted as free antibodies in the system. And, if that were not enough, he has stripped such users of their verified status, creating a toxic stew in which the truth and misinformation are entwined as one.
Alas, it is no wonder that conspiracy theories and hate speech are flourishing on the platform.
While Yaccarino may be putting on a brave face for the cameras, her inability to see through Musk's reality distortion field, or at least acknowledge the platform's deep troubles, does not bid well for the future of the company.
