Ella Irwin, Twitter’s head of trust and safety, has resigned from the social media platform, according to a statement made to Reuters. The company has faced criticism for its inadequate protection against harmful content since being acquired by billionaire Elon Musk in October. Irwin, who joined Twitter in June 2022, assumed the role of head of the trust and safety team in November, following the resignation of Yoel Roth. Her responsibilities included overseeing content moderation.
Twitter’s response to inquiries about Irwin’s departure was an automated email with a poop emoji, indicating a lack of transparency. Irwin declined to provide further comment, and Elon Musk, the owner of Twitter, has not yet responded to the request for comment.
This development occurs at a time when Twitter is struggling to retain advertisers due to concerns about their brand’s association with inappropriate content on the platform. In an attempt to address the issue, Musk recently hired Linda Yaccarino, former NBCUniversal advertising chief, as Twitter’s new CEO.
Since Musk’s acquisition, Twitter has implemented cost-cutting measures, resulting in significant layoffs, including employees working on efforts to prevent harmful and illegal content, safeguard election integrity, and promote accurate information on the site. Musk has introduced Community Notes, a feature that enables users to provide context to tweets, as a means to combat the spread of misleading information on Twitter.
