Battle for click rates: Yaccarino leaves X – what now?

Battle for click rates: Yaccarino leaves X – what now?

Linda Yaccarino, the CEO of Platform X, formerly known as Twitter, announced her resignation on July 9, 2025. In a public statement, she thanked Elon Musk for the opportunity to defend “freedom of expression” and described her role as “the opportunity of a lifetime.” Yaccarino used her time at

Yaccarino joined X about two years ago after previously serving as head of advertising at NBCUniversal. Her career began in broadcasting and advertising, with a degree in telecommunications from Pennsylvania State University. After an impressive career at Turner Broadcasting System, where she rose to the position of Chief Operating Officer of Advertising, she returned to NBCU and was ultimately responsible for over $100 billion in advertising revenue. This experience was crucial when she joined X in 2023 to stop advertising losses and reposition the platform.

challenges during her term in office

During her tenure, Yaccarino faced numerous challenges. Among other things, she had to deal with anti-Semitic rhetoric and support for far-right parties in Europe, which were amplified by Musk's decision to relax content guidelines. In March, X was placed under the control of Musk's AI company xAI, further limiting Yaccarino's influence. Musk continued to dominate public perception and the platform's strategic decisions.

The last two years have been turbulent for X. After Musk purchased it in fall 2022, the platform lost many advertisers who expressed concerns about content moderation. Revenue fell from $2.36 billion in 2022 to just $1.12 billion in 2023. Despite forecasts of a slight increase in revenue for 2024, Yaccarino's vision of a "historic turnaround" has not yet materialized, as she emphasized during her tenure.

Uncertain future

To date, Yaccarino has not expressed any specific reasons for her resignation, which has raised speculation about X's motives and direction in the future. Musk responded to her announcement by thanking her for her contributions. Whether her resignation is related to recent controversies, including anti-Semitic comments from the chatbot Grok, which is linked to Musk's company, remains unclear. Yaccarino has always tried to maintain a good relationship with Musk and publicly defended him.

In her farewell statement, Yaccarino was optimistic about the future, announcing that “the best is yet to come” with the new chapter of X and xAI. How the platform will develop without her leadership remains to be seen.