Did X appoint Head of Safety with polls in mind?
With the upcoming elections in India and in other countries, X's decision to fill the crucial role is also driven by the company's broader need to restore advertiser trust, say experts
Social media platform X finally announced a new Head of Safety—after the position lay vacant for nine months—to help oversee the content policies and rules for the embattled social media platform. The company announced earlier this week that it had internally promoted X employee Kylie McRoberts in a role that needed to be filled given the dire straits the company, purchased by Elon Musk in late 2022, is in. And seemingly, it is just in time for elections, a lucrative time for all ad platforms.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has had a tumultuous few quarters, ever since the mercurial Musk succeeded in a hostile takeover of the company, as the first step in his plans to build an everything app. Since then, the platform has haemorrhaged employees, advertisers, and revenues, with entire divisions being handed pink slips. Leading brands headed out on an exodus from a platform heavily dependent on their advertising dollars.
Bloomberg reported X’s Chief Executive Officer Linda Yaccarino as saying in a company-wide email, “When we say safety and freedom of speech can and must coexist on X — we mean it. And the safety team works tirelessly, day and night, across the globe to make that happen.”
With the elevation of McRoberts into the role of Head of Content Safety, X is clearly trying to woo back advertisers, and the upcoming elections offer a great opportunity for the same.
Google and Meta naturally command the lion’s share of the market, with a Statista report stating, “At the beginning of 2024, India's ruling party, the BJP had spent over 300 million Indian rupees on advertising on Google Ads and Meta, making it the leading political advertiser online. It was followed by the YSRCP, a regional political party. Comparatively, the country's other major national party, INC, trailed far behind with an online ad spend of over a million rupees during the same period. Ad revenues in India spiked that year due to the upcoming general elections.” X surely feels it deserves a part of the pie.
A senior industry veteran who preferred to remain anonymous said that it was high time that X began filling these all-important roles given the trust deficit the company held in the eyes of brands and advertisers. “Given that 2024 is going to see general elections not only in India but also the US, UK, Turkey and many other countries, it’s vital for the platform to start winning back some trust and confidence from advertisers.”
Shrenik Gandhi, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer, White Rivers Media, notes, “While the timing of this appointment may be influenced by upcoming elections, it's also likely driven by X's broader need to restore advertiser trust. Elections can heighten the importance of content moderation, but this role is crucial for X's long-term brand safety. As long as the work is done diligently and impartially, this move could have a positive impact.”
Another digital advertising agency head pointed out that while X had never been the biggest advertising venue, its users had previously comprised policymakers, senior politicians, journalists and other newsmakers, making Twitter, as it was known back then, an interesting arena during elections as different parties slugged it out over ideologies, messaging and more. “Now it’s just a racket, with bad ads, and worse content, and nobody is paying attention anymore.”
Let’s see what the head of content safety can do to turn things around.
