Elon Musk's social media platform, X, has announced the appointment of a new head of safety, Kylie McRoberts, to oversee the global safety team. This move comes nine months after the departure of the previous executive in that role, Ella Irwin. Additionally, Yale Cohen, formerly of Publicis Media, has been named as the head of brand safety and advertiser solutions.
The leadership changes at X follow a series of shakeups since Musk's acquisition of the platform in October 2022. Concerns over content moderation, misinformation, and hate speech have been on the rise under Musk's leadership, leading to the departure of some big-name advertisers.
In November, companies such as IBM, NBCUniversal, and Comcast pulled their ads from X after reports surfaced of their ads appearing alongside content praising Nazis. Musk responded with a controversial rant, accusing the companies of 'blackmail' and urging them to leave the platform.
Aside from advertiser battles, X has also taken legal action against organizations that have documented hate speech on the platform, including Media Matters and the Center for Countering Digital Hate. A recent court ruling dismissed X's lawsuit against the Center for Countering Digital Hate, stating that the platform cannot seek damages for third-party actions based on reports or speech from non-profit organizations.
The appointments of McRoberts and Cohen signal X's ongoing efforts to address safety and moderation issues on the platform. As X continues to navigate challenges related to content moderation and advertiser relations, the company remains focused on improving safety measures and combating the spread of harmful content.
