Ella Irwin, the head of trust and safety at Twitter, has resigned from her position, as confirmed by the now-former executive to Reuters on Thursday. The reasons behind her resignation remain undisclosed at this time.
Irwin took over the role from Yoel Roth, who left the company during the early days of Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover. While Roth clashed with Musk over the new owner’s hands-off approach to content moderation, Irwin was seen as more aligned with Musk’s ideals, which have been criticized for fostering a rise in hate speech and welcoming neo-Nazis on the platform.
Both Irwin and Musk have not yet commented on the situation. However, the timing coincides with the ongoing drama surrounding Twitter. On Thursday, conservative outlet the Daily Wire claimed that Twitter had “canceled a deal” to make their film, “What is a Woman,” available for free on the platform. The documentary, which attacks transgender people, was defended by Musk as being appropriate for Twitter.
While Musk insisted the documentary was allowed, Twitter’s rules against hateful conduct limited its reach on the platform.
Although it is unclear if Irwin’s resignation is connected to this particular controversy, she would likely have been involved in the decision-making process regarding the labeling of the video. The documentary has sparked a firestorm among conservative and anti-transgender Twitter users who perceive Musk as a reliable ally.
The departure of Twitter’s head of trust and safety adds another layer of scrutiny to the company’s content moderation practices, as the platform continues to grapple with balancing free speech and combatting harmful content.
