‘I Thought It Was a Deepfake’: Linda Yaccarino Roasted Over Awkward Video Announcing X Is Suing Advertisers

Screenshot via Twitter.

Linda Yaccarino , the CEO of X, the Platform Formerly Known as Twitter, posted a video on Tuesday announcing the company was filing a lawsuit against several advertisers and groups that she accused of organizing an “illegal boycott.” Her video was met with a tidal wave of disdain and mockery, with critics comparing it to a hostage video and voicing a high degree of skepticism about her claims.

In the video clip, Yaccarino, wearing a plain black shirt with two gold necklaces that say “MAMA” and “FREE SPEECH,” began by saying “Hey everybody.”

She explained that she was “shocked” by information from the GOP-majority House Judiciary Committee that “a group of companies organized a systematic illegal boycott against X,” complaining it was “just wrong” so X was filing an antitrust lawsuit. Yaccarino further argued that this boycott put what she called users’ “global town square” at “long term risk,” and claimed X was “the one place that you can express yourself freely and openly” — a claim that is simply not true.

As a factual note, X does have Terms of Service and other moderation restrictions that limit what users can post and Musk himself backed off his promises to create a “ free speech ” zone before his purchase was even completed. X also previously locked numerous accounts — including journalists — for posting links to other platforms, and purged accounts belonging to left-wing critics, among other actions taken to restrict content or remove users from X.

Additionally, here is an incomplete list of other online platforms that currently exist as of August 6, 2024 where people can express themselves (subject to terms and moderation rules not dissimilar from X): Facebook, Instagram, Threads, BlueSky, YouTube, TikTok, Substack, Medium Discord, Snapchat, Telegram, Mastadon, and Tumblr.

Other social media users reacted to not just Yaccarino’s tone of voice, but to mock and criticize her arguments, with many questioning her assertion that X had a legal right to force companies to do business with it — especially in light of company owner Elon Musk’s infamous “ Go. Fuck. Yourself! ” comment to advertisers who didn’t approve of his handling of hate speech on the platform or his own posting of antisemitic and conspiratorial content.

A sampling of reactions below:

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