Elon Musk’s reign of terror at Twitter has claimed another important person with the former head of trust and safety leaving the company.
Yoel Roth’s seven year tenure with Twitter has come to an abrupt end following Musk’s acquisition, with several insiders reporting he had left the company of his own accord. The role of head of trust seems like something the social media giant surely cannot live without, especially in wake of the ignominious launch of Twitter Blue’s paid verification.
Launching paid verification has resulted in a plethora of parody accounts and impersonation, with some of the most egregious parodies involving high-profile political figures like Rudy Giuliani, Joe Biden, and most importantly, Nintendo’s Mario. Roth had been putting on a brave face since Musk’s era began, with him toeing the party line on the launch day of paid verification.
Roth’s departure doesn’t combine well with Musk himself telling employees the company could easily foresee bankruptcy by the end of 2023. With so many significant departures and an overwhelming sense of the “peasants” revolting, Twitter could easily go the way of Myspace.
After Rupert Murdoch purchased Myspace for $580 million, he then sold it just a few years later for $35 million. Myspace seemed to rule the online world for years, much like Twitter, but a poor owner and poor policy can kill a site. Musk’s strange desire to control what is and isn’t spoken about him in particular will blow up.
Musk may not even look to replace Roth directly, with it very clear he doesn’t too much about safety or truth on his app. Instead, he just looks at the bottom line, which potentially won’t be very pleasing with the current trajectory.
