The Facts
Ella Irwin, who joined Twitter in June 2022 and has served as its head of trust and safety team since November after her predecessor Yoel Roth stepped down, revealed on Thursday that she has resigned.
Before joining Twitter, she had worked at several companies, including serving as vice president of product and consumer trust at communications software company Twilio and as general manager of marketplace abuse product management at Amazon.
The Spin
Narrative A
Irwin's resignation comes at a difficult time for Twitter, as it has been increasingly platforming incendiary content. Having no moderation leader will severely weaken the company in the face of governmental calls for better content management. Moreover, having already withdrawn from the voluntary EU agreement over controlling disinformation, Musk faces an uphill battle ahead if he doesn’t fill Irwin’s post.
Narrative B
While Musk is facing problems from all sides, he’s managing to appeal to both progressives and conservatives with his content decisions. And though Irwin is gone, Musk's appointment of veteran executive Lisa Yaccarino as CEO shows he hasn't forgotten the importance of keeping his company profitable.