Shubham Sawarkar
Following the takeover by Elon Musk, Twitter‘s new chief executive, Linda Yaccarino, has sent her first all-staff email since assuming her role last week. The email, while lacking specific details about her plans for the company, encouraged employees to think big and emphasized the collective responsibility for the success of “Twitter 2.0.” What caught the attention of many was Yaccarino’s first hire, Joe Benarroch, who forwarded the email to select reporters, marking Twitter’s first official outreach to the press since the November takeover. This move raises questions about the potential for a revamped press strategy under Yaccarino’s leadership.
Yaccarino’s email echoed one of Elon Musk’s key talking points, stating that Twitter is on a mission to become the world’s most accurate real-time information source and a global town square for communication. This alignment with Musk’s vision underscores the company’s commitment to transforming itself into a trusted platform for immediate and reliable information sharing. With the recent controversies surrounding misinformation and platform abuse, Twitter seems determined to regain public trust and redefine its role in the digital landscape.
Joe Benarroch, an accomplished communications executive with experience at NBCUniversal and Facebook, was brought on board to collaborate with Linda Yaccarino on business operations. While Benarroch’s actions in forwarding Yaccarino’s email to journalists suggest a potential shift in Twitter’s press strategy, it remains unclear whether this move was intentional or a result of miscommunication. As of press time, Benarroch has not responded to inquiries regarding the email’s implications for the company’s future interactions with the press. Additionally, an email sent to press@twitter.com remained unanswered, leaving room for speculation about Twitter’s approach to engaging with the media going forward.
Twitter’s decision to reach out to select reporters marks a departure from the company’s previous stance, where its entire communications department was dismissed by Elon Musk following the takeover. Notably, the press@twitter.com email address, which had been set to auto-respond with a poop emoji, did not produce the same response when contacted by this reporter. This change in communication tactics may indicate a potential willingness to rebuild relationships with the media and foster transparency, reflecting a new era in Twitter’s approach to public relations.
