Musk Appoints New Safety Chief at X... Will It Restore Brand Image?

Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has appointed new safety officers for the social networking service X (formerly Twitter), aiming to restore the brand image, Bloomberg reported on the 2nd (local time). This move is seen as a strategic response after companies disappointed by X's neglect of extremist content have consecutively withdrawn their advertisements, impacting revenue.

According to the report, X announced the appointment of Kylie McRoberts as the new head of safety through an internal promotion. McRoberts is expected to develop new products, tools, and features to protect the platform and community, as well as oversee the global safety team responsible for maintaining and improving safety policies. Additionally, Yale Cohen was hired as the head of brand safety and advertiser solutions. Cohen, a former executive at the global advertising agency Publicis Groupe SA, will be responsible for creating a safe advertising environment for clients and advertisers.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The X Safety team is an organization responsible for maintaining brand trust by establishing content policies, removing misinformation on the platform, and cracking down on illegal and offensive content. This is the first time in nine months that X has appointed new safety officers. When Musk acquired Twitter, he dismissed global executives who opposed him, and his successor resigned last June ahead of Linda Yaccarino’s appointment as X CEO.

In an email sent to all employees on the same day, Yaccarino, X CEO, said, "We sincerely believe that safety and freedom of expression can coexist within X," adding, "The safety team is working around the clock worldwide to make this a reality."

Attention is focused on whether X can restore its diminished trust by strengthening content standards through the appointment of new safety officers. Since acquiring X, Musk has championed "freedom of expression," promoting the platform as "a square where diverse beliefs can be expressed in a healthy way." However, X’s lax content moderation standards, which have allowed extremist content that incites hate to persist, have drawn criticism from the market.

In November last year, when Musk posted a supportive comment on a post containing an "anti-Semitic conspiracy theory" claiming that the Jewish community incites hatred among white people, major companies such as Apple, Disney, and NBCUniversal suspended their advertisements. As a result, X’s advertising revenue last year was approximately $2.5 billion, down about 50% from the previous year.

Meanwhile, X is reportedly testing community features focused on adult content. Currently, X’s policy restricts "explicit media, adult nudity, and sexual acts" for users under 18 or those who do not include their birthdate in their profile.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.