X CEO Linda Yaccarino mocked the Associated Press for publishing a story about Elon Musk's departure from X and then promoting the story on its platform.
“Ever wanted to get off Elon Musk's X Platform? Here's how to do it” AP article The content promised in X's post on Thursday was released.
“And yet… you're still here!” Yaccarino responded in a post.
Kelvin Chan, a technology reporter for the Associated Press, writes that since the provocative billionaire, who has a net worth of $253.6 billion according to Forbes magazine, bought Twitter in 2022, celebrities and X-users have been abandoning the platform “one by one.”
“Some point to moves like re-embracing controversial figures like Donald Trump and accuse Musk of turning a once-joyful place into a chaotic and toxic one,” Chang wrote in the article.
According to the article, some people left X to create rival accounts such as Bluesky and Meta's Threads, citing Musk's “childish humor” and tendency to “amplify far-right tropes.”
The article then went on to provide readers with step-by-step instructions on how to disable the X account.
The Associated Press posted a link to an article about X, which garnered 1,500 likes and a flurry of criticism about its hypocrisy.
One X user called the article “pro-censorship” and said the Associated Press “laments the fact that X has a policy on free speech.”
The backlash illustrates the growing tension between those who want online platforms to be held responsible for harmful content and those who say they should be given immunity under the protection of free speech.
Musk brought on Yaccarino, who was NBCUniversal's chairman of global advertising, to lead the company in June 2023.
Her job was to win back X's dwindling number of advertisers who had fled after Musk's controversial acquisition of the company.
More advertisers, including Coca-Cola, Apple and Disney, have shunned the platform due to Musk's inappropriate posts.
Recently, The World Bank has ended paid advertising on X After it was reported that some of the company's ads were displayed alongside racist content,
But the Tesla and SpaceX founder hasn't toned down his inflammatory posts.
Earlier this week, Musk made headlines after proposing to pop star Taylor Swift to have his baby.
Despite a global crackdown on the spread of misinformation by tech giants, he has shared AI-generated images on his account, including one of Vice President Kamala Harris dressed as a communist dictator.
