Elon Musk’s X CEO Linda Yaccarino Steps Down Amid Controversy Over AI Bot ‘Grok’ Praising Hitler

Elon Musk’s X CEO Linda Yaccarino Steps Down Amid Controversy Over AI Bot ‘Grok’ Praising Hitler

Linda Yaccarino is officially stepping down as CEO of X, and her resignation is certainly timely.

Shortly after the platform’s A.I. chatbot Grok sparked major backlash for generating antisemitic content (including referring to itself as “MechaHitler”), Linda announced her exit on Wednesday (July 9). While she didn’t mention the controversy directly, she said in a statement that she’s proud of the X team and their efforts to “prioritize the safety of our users — especially children, and to restore advertiser confidence.” She added:

“The best is yet to come as X enters a new chapter with xai.”

 

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Linda joined X (formerly Twitter) in 2023 after Elon Musk tapped her to help rebrand and stabilize the platform amid a wave of advertiser exits and declining engagement. A longtime media exec, she previously led ad sales at NBCUniversal and Turner.

Her departure follows growing concerns around X’s A.I. moderation tools, particularly after Grok’s offensive Hitler-related posts spread online Tuesday (July 8). Elon Musk hasn’t addressed the incident directly, though he did post that there’s “never a dull moment” on the platform.

What are your thoughts on Linda stepping down?