Linda Yaccarino is stepping down as CEO of X (formerly Twitter) after two years at the helm, marking a significant leadership change at the Elon Musk-owned social platform. Yaccarino announced her resignation on Wednesday in a post on X, expressing pride in the company’s turnaround and gratitude to Musk for entrusting her with the role. She highlighted the platform’s changes, stating, “the historic business turnaround we have accomplished has been nothing short of remarkable.” Musk publicly thanked her for her contributions in a social post.
Yaccarino did not specify a reason for her departure. However, her exit comes just a day after X’s Grok AI chatbot was found posting antisemitic material, reigniting scrutiny over the platform’s content moderation policies. While it is unclear if this incident directly prompted her resignation, Yaccarino had faced sustained pressure from the advertising industry amid ongoing controversies involving Musk and the platform’s handling of hate speech and misinformation. Major brands including Disney, Apple, and IBM had pulled advertising from X in November 2023 as a direct result of X’s proximity to antisemitic content, just months after Yaccarino was appointed.
History at X
Yaccarino, who joined X in May 2023 after a long tenure running NBCUniversal’s ad business, was Musk’s first permanent CEO hire after his 2022 acquisition of the platform. She was brought in to restore advertiser confidence and stabilize the business following a period of turbulence and advertiser exodus triggered by Musk’s controversial statements and a shift toward less content moderation. Under her leadership, X introduced new features like Community Notes, which allows for users to add more information, supposedly context, to their posts. She also laid the groundwork for the rollout of X Money, part of Musk’s vision to integrate financial services into the platform (Musk was part of what Fortune dubbed the “PayPal Mafia,” with X.com being Musk’s original name for what became PayPal).Yaccarino also extended partnerships with major sports leagues and creators.
Despite these efforts, the advertiser exodus of 2023 meant that X’s ad revenue was quite depressed. Analysis of third-party data suggested that the private company was generating ad revenue of about half its pre-Musk levels, although 2025 was projected to see growth for the first time in four years.
Industry impact
Yaccarino’s resignation adds uncertainty to X’s future as it continues to grapple with advertiser skepticism. Her efforts to balance Musk’s vision of a free-speech platform with the demands of the advertising community and broader societal concerns over online safety were continual.
This is a developing story; further updates are expected as X announces its next steps.
Here’s her announcement post:
For this story, Fortune used generative AI to help with an initial draft. An editor verified the accuracy of the information before publishing.
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