X CEO Linda Yaccarino called a report from a watchdog group that led to a large-scale advertiser pullout \u201cmisleading and manipulated\u201d in a note she sent to X employees on Sunday night.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile some advertisers may have temporarily paused investments because of a misleading article, the data will tell the real story,\u201d Yaccarino wrote in the note, which was first published<\/ins><\/a> by The Hollywood Reporter<\/em>, and which Engadget has seen a copy of. \u201cBecause for all of us who work at X, we\u2019ve been extremely clear about our efforts to combat antisemitism and discrimination, as there\u2019s no place for it anywhere in the world.\u201d Yaccarino\u2019s note was titled \u201cOur Work is Meaningful\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n She also framed the situation as a free speech issue, writing that \u201cno critic will ever deter us from our mission to protect free speech.\u201d In doing so, she aligned herself with X owner Elon Musk\u2019s repeated claims that free speech on the platform is paramount. Musk has repeatedly dismissed concerns of hate speech increasing on X ever since he bought the service last year.<\/p>\n Major advertisers including IBM, Apple, Disney, Lionsgate, Warner Brothers Discovery, Paramount Global, and NBCUniversal, whose advertising division Yaccarino previously headed, pulled their ads<\/ins><\/a> from X last week after a report from watchdog group Media Matters for America found that ads from some of these brands ran next to pro-Nazi content on the website. The move also came days after Musk publicly endorsed an antisemitic conspiracy theory as a response to a far-right X user. Musk\u2019s comment drew widespread criticism, including a statement<\/ins><\/a> from the White House, which called his post an \u201cabhorrent promotion of Antisemitic and racist hate\u201d that \u201cruns against our core values as Americans.\u201d<\/p>\n On Friday, Musk said<\/ins><\/a> that the company would file \u201ca thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company\u201d when court opens on Monday. As of Monday afternoon, there was no sign of a lawsuit.<\/p>\n Yaccarino was already under pressure to resign as X CEO from advertisers who are questioning her decision to risk her reputation to protect Musk, Forbes<\/em> reported<\/ins><\/a>. In a post on X on Monday morning, Yaccarino doubled down<\/ins><\/a> on her criticism of Media Matters. \u201cWhen you\u2019re this consequential, there will be detractors and fabricated distractions, but we\u2019re unwavering in our mission,\u201d she wrote. \u201cThank you for standing with us!\u201d<\/p>\n An X spokesperson sent a link to Yaccarino\u2019s X post in response to Engadget\u2019s request for comment.<\/p>\n This article originally appeared on Engadget at https:\/\/www.engadget.com\/x-ceo-calls-article-that-led-to-latest-brand-exodus-misleading-and-manipulated-204025411.html?src=rss
X CEO Linda Yaccarino called a report from a watchdog group that led to a large-scale advertiser pullout \u201cmisleading and manipulated\u201d in a note she sent to X employees on Sunday night. \u201cWhile some advertisers may have temporarily paused investments … Continue reading
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\nSource: Engadget – X CEO calls article that led to latest brand exodus ‘misleading and manipulated’<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"