Commentary

New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino Supports Elon Musk's Bogus 'Free Speech' Mission

Long-time ad executive Linda Yaccarino officially began her new role as Twitter CEO on Monday, according to a tweet she shared that read, “It happened––first day in the books! Stay tuned…”

When Twitter owner Elon Musk first announced the hiring of a new CEO last month, Yaccarino abruptly resigned from NBCUniversal -- where she had worked for 12 years as chairman of the company’s advertising and partnerships group.

Yaccarino then officially joined Twitter on May 12, three weeks earlier than Musk originally projected, and just days before NBCUniversal’s upfront presentation––its much-anticipated advertiser event.

All in all, it seemed like a rushed mess. And worse, Yaccarino’s first day on the job included a live audio event on Twitter Spaces alongside Musk and Robert F. Kennedy Jr, the 2024 presidential candidate who is anti-vaccine and pro-Second Amendment. The candidate blamed widespread gun violence and school shootings on the use of antidepressants, despite the lack of any factual data to support that statement.

advertisement

advertisement

As Musk continues to provide a platform––his platform––for political candidates who align with his own personal views, Yaccarino seems to be a willing accomplice.

For reference, on May 24, Musk hosted Ron DeSantis on Twitter––you know, that Florida guy who claims to fight for the working class and “truth” but continues to support unregulated gun ownership, nix actual American history lessons, and starve programs meant to better ordinary citizens’ lives for low taxes on the rich and corporations. Due to hasty planning, the conversation was plagued by technical issues.

Still, Yaccarino tweeted this: “Tonight’s reflection––we just heard a rare and unscripted conversation, on a range of important topics, with a Presidential candidate––all launched on Twitter. That’s historical. Let’s do more. Freedom of speech is priceless.”

It hurts to see a highly celebrated professional such as Yaccarino––who ran a 2,000-plus global team that connected brands to hundreds of millions of viewers and generated more than $100 billion in ad sales, transformed a $70 billion video ecosystem, fostered a campaign to educate millions of Americans on the importance of getting the COVID-19 vaccine as Ad Council Chair and helped launch a variety of initiatives that helped promote equity in the advertising industry––ignore such blatant hypocrisy while promoting a complete misreading of “free speech” and the true power of democracy.

While Yaccarino’s decision to join Musk is bewildering on a moral and political level, one thing is clear: Musk desperately needs someone like Yaccarino to bring in more advertising dollars.

However, in a time when brand advertisers are demanding more transparency from their media partners than ever before, Twitter––with its continual cuts to whatever content moderation team still exists and the rise of harmful and hate-fueled content––continues to dissuade advertisers from joining or continuing with the platform.

Sure, there’s not much Yaccarino has to do to improve a failing company like Twitter, which some may view as a “success,” but such a willingness to align herself with Musk and his destructive “free speech” mission may still ruin Yaccarino’s reputation and long, respected career.

7 comments about "New Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino Supports Elon Musk's Bogus 'Free Speech' Mission".
Check to receive email when comments are posted.
  1. Frank Flynn from Combined Media Solutions, LLC., June 7, 2023 at 11:02 a.m.

    Funny, you Journalist were fine with Twitter when it worked around your narrative. Suppression of information is as bad as false infomation. Good grief, why can't any of you see it, or can you and you just dont want to admit it?

  2. Dan Ciccone from STACKED Entertainment, June 7, 2023 at 11:58 a.m.

    I find it odd how much editorial MP "journalists" are dedicating to commentary about politics.


    Get back to media and reporting on the industry.  There's enough political commentary without MP injecting its own bias into so much of its editorial.


    And while MP keeps obsessing over advertising dollars, Musk specifically said he thinks Twitter is too reliant on advertising.  So Musk tries and fails at new things, like how he purposely blows up billion dollar rockets to learn, but MP just continues down this road like he turned into some alt right whacko in the last 6 months just because he's making Twitter more transparent.


    Also interesting how many at MP still have personal Twitter handles while simultaneously screaming from the hilltop that Twitter is some kind of outcast platform now.

  3. Bob DeSena from Engagement Marketing Grouproup, June 7, 2023 at 12:04 p.m.

    Colin,  Just a friendly reminder that 'Free Speech' in this country doesn't only protect that which you and I may agree with. 


    One of the characteristics of our polarized country today is that we tend to label as 'bogus' whatever doesn't align with our thinking. 


    All of us should try more listening. 

  4. Bruce Braun from Bridge marketing, June 7, 2023 at 4:04 p.m.

    How wonderful to be a prosecutor, judge, and jury, Colin!  Congratulations on proffering a one-sided analysis.

    MP subscribers could give a rat's ass about your political views that have nothing to do with MP's primary publisher mission.  Does EVERYTHING have to have a political perspective to it? 

    If anything, your professional reputation risks being damaged by going off on Linda the way you did with your rant. Twitter, Musk, and Linda will succeed or fail by what they do.  Your "help" is not requested or needed.

  5. Ben B from Retired, June 7, 2023 at 10:02 p.m.

    Musk owning Twitter is a good thing and is stop censoring what is on Twitter is a good thing since America has that little thing called free speech. Musk doesn't care about ads since Tesla doesn't do ads for their EVs. 

  6. Edward Omeara from MediaHound, June 8, 2023 at 10:23 a.m.

    Staff Writer???  Journalist?
    #Not

  7. Diane Rinaldo from Nielsen replied, June 12, 2023 at 10:38 a.m.

    Freedom of speech is the right of a person to articulate opinions and ideas without interference or retaliation FROM THE GOVERNMENT. Has nothing to due with what a private company decides what to share on its own platform. 

Next story loading loading..