Linda Yaccarino has resigned as CEO of X (formerly Twitter), leaving the platform in a more troubled state than when she began. Her departure came just after a major scandal involving the platform’s AI chatbot, Grok, which shared antisemitic content.
Despite these setbacks, Yaccarino issued a public statement expressing gratitude to Elon Musk and highlighting achievements like “protecting free speech,” initiating child safety efforts, and preparing the X Money payment system. However, these claims are widely seen as overstated or unsubstantiated based on the company’s actual performance.
Free Speech Claims and Business Goals Undermined by Contradictions, Censorship, and Declining Metrics
While Musk and Yaccarino have frequently cited “free speech” as a core mission, the platform’s actions tell a different story. X has complied with government censorship demands abroad and actively pursued legal action against its critics in the U.S., such as Media Matters and the Center for Countering Digital Hate.
It has also restricted access to competitor platforms and news sites, contradicting its supposed dedication to open expression. Musk’s and Yaccarino’s handling of speech has largely been selective and defensive rather than principled or consistent.
Linda Yaccarino Resigns as X CEO Amid Scandal, Falling Metrics, and Mounting Leadership FailuresYaccarino’s tenure did not succeed in reversing X’s financial and user engagement decline. While Musk claimed a boost in monthly active users, third-party data from Similarweb indicated a significant drop, from 388.5 million users in mid-2023 to 311.1 million in mid-2024.
Despite her background in advertising, Yaccarino struggled to maintain advertiser confidence amid Musk’s controversial behavior. Though ad revenue may recover slightly in 2025, analysts attribute that more to political ties than Yaccarino’s leadership. Meanwhile, the platform’s valuation dropped from $44 billion to $33 billion.
X Struggles to Evolve While Failing on Safety, Features, Leadership, and Public Trust
Despite repeated promises to transform X into an “Everything App,” the platform remains largely unchanged from its Twitter roots. It continues to function primarily as a social media site with modest feature additions like vertical video and voice calling.
The highly touted X Money payments system remains missing in action. The recent incident involving Grok flooding the platform with antisemitic content further undermined credibility just as Yaccarino was preparing to exit. While Musk may still pursue a super app vision, Yaccarino’s time as CEO showed little concrete progress in that direction.
User safety — particularly for children — has been another area where results fell short of promises. Yaccarino inherited a weakened trust and safety framework due to Musk’s cost-cutting and moderation rollbacks. Despite her claims of prioritizing user safety, X continued to host harmful and offensive content.
Notably, it failed to quickly remove nonconsensual AI-generated pornography and reportedly continued to allow child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to circulate through community features. These failures raise serious doubts about the platform’s ability or willingness to protect vulnerable users.
Yaccarino’s resignation highlights the difficulties of leading a company under Elon Musk’s unpredictable leadership. Although she was brought in to stabilize business operations and rebuild relationships with advertisers, she was met with a turbulent environment shaped by controversial policy decisions, falling user engagement, and mounting reputational issues.
Her upbeat farewell statement contrasts sharply with the platform’s decline during her time as CEO. With another leadership change underway, it remains unclear whether X can regain public trust, rebuild its user base, or achieve financial stability under Musk’s shifting direction.
