Twitter’s head of trust and safety Ella Irwin says she resigned from the social media platform after joining in 2022, a few months before Musk acquired Twitter in November. A source noted her internal stack account had been deactivated.
Ella Irwin, previously serving as Twitter’s head of trust and safety and a prominent member of Elon Musk’s team, is no longer an active participant in Twitter’s internal Slack, as reported by a reliable source and evidenced by a deactivated account screenshot viewed by Fortune.
She was a former Amazon director who joined Twitter in June 2022, just a few months prior to Musk’s acquisition of the platform in November, swiftly gained the trust of the new owner and rose to become one of his key executives.
Following the prominent departure of Yoel Roth, the former head of trust and safety at Twitter, Irwin took charge of content moderation.
While the exact reason for Irwin’s departure from Twitter remains unclear, sources within the company have speculated whether it could be related to Musk’s recent criticism of the company’s content moderation decisions, particularly regarding the Daily Wire, a conservative news site.
Under Musk’s leadership, Twitter has adopted a more relaxed and controversial approach to content moderation. Musk himself has described his stance as that of a “free-speech absolutist.”
Just this week, an anti-hate group revealed that it had reported 100 tweets containing racist, homophobic, and other abusive content from users subscribed to Twitter’s premium $8 per month service, known as Twitter Blue. Surprisingly, even after four days, 99 of these flagged tweets were still accessible on the platform.
During a turbulent period at Twitter, Irwin assumed a prominent role as one of the top executives, coinciding with Musk’s significant layoffs and the departure of advertisers.
According to a former colleague’s account in a January Daily Beast profile, Irwin was characterised as someone who excels in challenging and chaotic environments.
Following the elimination of Twitter’s public relations department by Musk, Irwin frequently acted as the unofficial spokesperson for the company. She engaged with reporters, discussing Twitter’s policies, and actively interacted with users on the platform to address concerns regarding content moderation decisions.
The announcement of Irwin’s resignation comes in the wake of heightened scrutiny of Twitter’s content moderation practices.
The platform has faced criticism from users, lawmakers, and advocacy groups over perceived bias, inconsistent enforcement, and the proliferation of misinformation.
Industry experts suggest that Irwin’s departure could be an indication of internal disagreements within the company regarding the appropriate balance between free speech and content regulation.
After the Musk take over, Twitter underwent significant cost-cutting measures, resulting in the dismissal of numerous employees. Among those affected were individuals dedicated to tackling harmful and illegal content, safeguarding election integrity, and ensuring the dissemination of accurate information on the platform.
Recently, Mr. Musk has actively endorsed a functionality called Community Notes on Twitter. The feature enables users to supplement tweets with additional context, aiming to counteract the spread of misleading information on the platform.
Irwin’s resignation coincides with the platform’s ongoing challenge of retaining advertisers, primarily due to brands’ apprehensions about being associated with inappropriate content.
She chose not to provide additional comments regarding her resignation, while Mr. Musk has not yet responded to the media’s request for a statement.
