Twitter’s top content moderator has reportedly stepped down after just seven months on the job under CEO Elon Musk.
Ella Irwin, who joined the social media platform in June 2022 and took over as head of trust and safety last fall, when Musk officially acquired the social media platform, confirmed her departure to Reuters.
She did not offer any details on her decision to resign, but told The Wall Street Journal “she had always been honest in her work.”
She succeeded Yoel Roth, who left the company following Musk’s takeover.
Twitter responded to Reuters’ comment request with a poop emoji, the news wire said.
Musk has not directly weighed in on the departure, but it comes after the CEO publicly rebuked the platform’s earlier decision to limit the reach of a transphobic video by The Daily Wire called “What Is a Woman?” reportedly over two instances of misgendering.
The content moderation decision would have fallen under Irwin’s responsibilities.
“This was a mistake by many people at Twitter,” Musk wrote in reply to a complaint from Daily Wire co-founder Jeremy Boreing. “It is definitely allowed.”
This was a mistake by many people at Twitter. It is definitely allowed.
Whether or not you agree with using someone’s preferred pronouns, not doing so is at most rude and certainly breaks no laws.
I should note that I do personally use someone’s preferred pronouns, just as I…
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) June 1, 2023
As of Friday morning, the closest Musk had come to giving a reason for Irwin’s exit was his reply to a Twitter user who had asked about departures from the trust and safety team in a thread about the film. “Director related,” he wrote.
Musk, who has a history of making and promoting transphobic comments on Twitter, has been criticized for allowing hate to proliferate on the platform since he took over.
The film was visible on The Daily Wire’s Twitter account on Friday and did not appear to carry a warning label. Musk clarified the “only limit is that it will not be placed next to advertising.”
He has also shared the video on his own Twitter account.
Musk has announced he will soon step down as CEO of the company and will be replaced by Linda Yaccarino. Yaccarino will “focus primarily on business operations, while I focus on product design & new technology,” Musk previously tweeted.
