Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety, Ella Irwin, responsible for safety and content moderation, has resigned from the company. Her departure came shortly after Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, publicly criticized the platform’s handling of posts concerning transgender topics. This departure highlights yet another wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over the company last year.
Jeremy Boreing, Co-CEO of the conservative media company, the Daily Wire, complained about Twitter’s handling of tweets concerning the company’s documentary questioning transgender medical treatment for children and teens. Boreing tweeted that Twitter was suppressing the movie by flagging posts about it as hate speech and keeping it off the lists of trending topics. Twitter rules prohibit intentionally referring to transgender individuals with the wrong gender or name.
In response to Boreing’s complaints, Musk tweeted that not using someone’s preferred pronouns is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws. However, Irwin’s resignation followed soon after Musk’s tweets. Irwin confirmed her resignation in a pair of tweets late on Friday, although she did not mention the reason for her departure.
Irwin had been the most prominent voice of the company’s ever-changing content policies in recent months, next to Musk. Twitter’s drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech since Musk bought Twitter for $44 billion in October have turned off advertisers, and the company has struggled to bring them back. Twitter also has an incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, with decades of experience in media and advertising, but she has yet to start.
Twitter’s Turmoil and Turnover in Top Ranks Continue
Twitter has been in turmoil since Musk bought the San Francisco company and took it private. The company’s Head of Trust and Safety left shortly after the takeover, and turnover in the top ranks has continued. Last month, Twitter fired two more top managers.
Irwin’s departure points to a fresh wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter. Her exit has also led to speculation about whether she was fired or quit. Irwin teased that she would post 24 tweets to explain her departure, but later tweeted that she was just kidding about the long narrative.
Regardless of the reason for her departure, Irwin thanked her colleagues on Twitter for the once-in-a-lifetime experience of working with the amazing team of passionate, creative, and hardworking people. She wished them and Twitter all the best for the future.
Twitter’s Head of Trust and Safety, Ella Irwin, has resigned from the company amidst criticism from Elon Musk over the platform’s handling of posts concerning transgender topics. This departure highlights yet another wave of turmoil among key officials at Twitter since Musk took over the company last year. Twitter’s drastic changes and loosening of rules against hate speech have turned off advertisers, and the company has struggled to bring them back. Twitter’s incoming CEO, Linda Yaccarino, has decades of experience in media and advertising, but she has yet to start.
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