On Friday, Elon Musk announced that heâs stepping back as CEO of Twitter, and will soon be replaced by Linda Yaccarino, NBCUniversalâs former head of advertising. Itâs a sensible choice for the platform. Advertisers fled Twitter during Muskâs tenure amidst skyrocketing hate speech and other objectionable content, and the company desperately needs big brands to come back if itâs going to make any money. Thereâs just one problem, at least if youâre a nut job: Yaccarino also has a gig at the World Economic Forum.
The WEF is an independent lobbying group that helps giant corporations and countries come together to make even more money on an international stage. If youâre fortunate enough to avoid the dumbest parts of the internet, you might be blissfully unaware that the WEF is also a focal point for conspiracy theorists. Thatâs especially true of the WEFâs annual Davos meeting, where many of the richest and most powerful people on earth gather to talk about make decisions about how theyâre going to run the world. To be clearâthe conspiracy theories about the WEF have little, if any, grounding in reality.
I think I speak for many when I say the reason I pay $8 a month is so that you wouldnât choose someone like that to run Twitter. Great job.
— DaltonBro (@OnlyfansisOP) May 12, 2023
Over the past couple of years, Elonâs spent a lot of time virtue signaling to the conservatives and right-wingers, and heâs attracted a large following of a certain kind of person who does not like so-called globalists. As CEO of Twitter, Musk did away with a lot of persnickety rules about vaccine misinformation and hate speech, which was thrilling for all the people who love that kind of stuff.
Yaccarinoâs ties to the WEF, not to mention the fact thatâs she on the record supporting Diversity Equity and Inclusion initiatives, make her unpopular in a lot of the circles where Elon is a savior. For many of the billionaireâs bozo fans, handing Yaccarino the keys to Twitter feels like a betrayal.
Bye Elon đ˘ đ¸ pic.twitter.com/z2XJI9lduN
— Roar (@RoarWeb3) May 12, 2023
These freshly christened Yaccarino haters may be wrong about conspiracies, vaccine mandates, and racism, but theyâre probably right thatâs sheâs going to do things they wonât like. Hereâs a sad truth for the free speech eightdollarati: most big companies donât like running their ads alongside virulent racism and dangerous misinformation. Itâs not because theyâre âwoke,â itâs because theyâre businesses, and most people donât like that stuff either. Toxicity and hatred does not make people want to buy things. Sorry, weirdos. Musk has made a lot of changes that scared advertisers away. If she has any business sense, Yaccarino will try to undo them.
Strap in kids, because watching Twitter circle the drain is going to be just as crazy as ever under the companyâs new chief. Gizmodo collected some of the most unhinged responses to Yaccarinoâs arrival. Click through the slideshow above to see the glittering examples.
The most entertaining outcome is the most likely
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) May 12, 2023