Twitter CEO Linda Yaccarino echoes Musk in focus on freedom of speech

In her first tweet string Since becoming Twitter’s CEO last week, Linda Yaccarino on Monday emphasized the company’s focus on free speech, a topic favored by owner Elon Musk.

“Twitter is on a mission to become the world’s most accurate source of information in real time and a global arena for communication,” Iaccarino wrote on Twitter and in a note to employees. “This is not an empty promise.”

In order to “move civilization forward,” Iaccarino writes, people need access to “unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the things that matter most to us.” Prior to Twitter, Yaccarino was the head of global advertising at NBCUniversal, the parent company of CNBC.

Since he bought Twitter for $44 billion late last year, and then watched the site’s value plummet due to a shifting market and declining ads, Musk has reinstated many accounts previously closed for violating ex-driving rules. But Musk has also silenced some voices, including suspending accounts from journalists who have criticized him.

Yaccarino did not address any specific issues or accounts. Nor did it address any of the various issues that have plagued the site since Musk took over. A recent Pew Research Center survey, for example, showed that professional Twitter users post less frequently than in the past, underscoring Yaccarino’s difficulty rebuilding engagement on the site.

One of Yaccarino’s most pressing challenges is stabilizing the advertising business. Many companies have paused their advertising campaigns on Twitter due to concerns about the emergence of hate speech and offensive content. In early June, several high-level Twitter executives charged with brand safety abruptly left the company.

“We have a chance to reach across the aisles, create new partnerships, celebrate new voices, and build something together that can change the world,” Iaccarino wrote. “From what I can tell so far, we built for this.”

Here’s the full memo that Yaccarino sent to the staff:

Hello Twitter!
People keep asking me: Why Twitter? So I’ll tell you.
From space exploration to electric cars, Elon knew these industries needed to transform, so he did. Recently, it has become increasingly clear that the global cityscape needs to transform—to move civilization forward through the unfiltered exchange of information and open dialogue about the things that matter most to us.
Have you ever spoken to someone particularly insightful and thought, You are amazing – everyone should have the opportunity to hear that. Or, I’m learning a lot from you – can we do it again? Or maybe it’s as simple as, you should be free to say what’s on your mind. We all should.
Enter Twitter 2.0.
Twitter aims to become the world’s most accurate source of real-time information and a global arena for communication. We are on the brink of making history – and this is not an empty promise. This is our reality.
When you start wrapping your arms around this powerful vision, literally anything is possible. You have to sincerely believe – and work hard for that belief. And in this moment of complete renewal, we have the opportunity to reach across the aisles, create new partnerships, celebrate new voices, and build something together that can change the world. And from what I can tell so far, I was built for this.
The success of Twitter 2.0 is entirely our responsibility.
We need to think big.
We need to transform.
We need to do this together.
And we can do all of this by starting from first principles – questioning our assumptions and building something new from the ground up. It’s rare that you have the opportunity to put a new future in the hands of every person, partner, and creator on the planet.
That’s exactly why I’m here – with all of you.
So, let’s dig our heels in (4 inches or flat!) and build Twitter 2.0 together.
Linda

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