Reports indicate that Twitter’s second head of trust and safety, who served under owner Elon Musk, has resigned. Ella Irwin assumed the position following the departure of the previous head, Yoel Roth, in November 2022, shortly after Musk took control of the company.
The head of trust and safety is responsible for content moderation, which has been a significant focus since Musk’s takeover. The BBC has approached Twitter and Ms. Irwin for comment but has not received a response. Both Reuters and the Wall Street Journal have confirmed Irwin’s resignation, although the exact reason behind it remains unclear.
The timing of her resignation is noteworthy as it comes just a day after Musk publicly criticized a content moderation decision made by Twitter. Musk referred to the decision to limit the visibility of a video due to allegations of misgendering as “a mistake by many people at Twitter.”
He argued that not using someone’s preferred pronouns, while potentially impolite, does not constitute a violation of any laws. This development follows Twitter’s recent decision to withdraw from the European Union’s voluntary code aimed at combating disinformation.
Last month, Musk announced that Linda Yaccarino, former head of advertising at NBCUniversal, would assume the role of Twitter’s new chief executive, although she has yet to begin her position.
During Musk’s tenure, studies have indicated a rise in hate speech, with the Center for Countering Digital Hate, a London-based campaign group, reporting a significant increase in slurs following Musk’s takeover.
In December 2022, Twitter disbanded a volunteer group that provided guidance on self-harm, child abuse, and hate speech. However, efforts have been made to address content accuracy, such as expanding the Community Notes feature to encompass images.
Community Notes allows Twitter users to contribute comments that provide context to tweets, often flagging them as false or misleading. Twitter plans to further expand this feature to include video content in the future.
