Brands, bots and the battle for trust: What Linda Yaccarino's exit means for X

When Linda Yaccarino announced her resignation as CEO of X last week, it wasn’t merely the departure of an advertising stalwart. It marked a deeper pivot in Elon Musk’s retooling of Twitter into X—one that now seems increasingly untethered from media roots and geared toward experimental artificial intelligence (AI).

Her exit came within hours of Grok, the AI chatbot developed by Musk's xAI, going on an antisemitic tirade via X’s public feed—a development that didn’t just raise ethical alarm but also triggered an advertiser credibility crisis.

With X now legally merged with xAI, the line between media channel and AI laboratory is blurring fast. For advertisers, it’s not simply about placement anymore. It’s about platform identity.

Still a stage, but with spikes

Despite a rocky history since Musk’s acquisition in 2022, X retains a loyal base of users and considerable cultural cachet. Statista estimates that there are approximately 586 million active monthly users on X. And that’s a big reason why advertisers haven’t entirely walked away.

Elon Musk-owned X's CEO Linda Yaccarino (right) resigned just months after the social media platform was acquired by the billionaire's AI startup, xAI.

"X’s large user base and cultural relevance continue to make it attractive to advertisers, even as concerns over misinformation, hate speech, and extremist content persist," said Prabhu Ram, vice president—Industry Research Group (IRG) at CyberMedia Research. But risks pertaining to brand safety, reputation, and probable fiscal losses due to the platform's content moderation policies and Musk's public statements prevail. And this, Ram admits, has led many brands to reassess their advertising strategies on the platform. 

This caution notwithstanding, there is no denying that X still holds cultural weight. This is the platform where trends kick off and creators build real-time buzz.

According to Advait Panchal, chief technology officer of Social Donut, most brands now treat it like a "moment-only" platform. “If there’s a trending topic or cultural spike, they’ll jump in for reach, but only with strict keyword blocklists, creator-led safety nets, and real-time monitoring. Otherwise, money’s being redirected to safer, more predictable ecosystems,” he noted. 

Many a brand is constantly balancing the undeniable cultural relevance and real-time engagement opportunities that X offers with the brand safety risks that have intensified over the past couple of years. Whether it is Axis Bank that encourages users to share content related to its campaigns, like gift ideas, to drive engagement and create personalised content. Or delivery aggregators like Zomato and Swiggy that have built a strong brand presence by engaging in conversations with their audience, responding to tweets, and participating in trending topics.

hot dog or vadapav? �� pic.twitter.com/czHLHunSSs

— Swiggy Food (@Swiggy) July 11, 2025

However, most companies have adopted a more cautious, data-driven approach to their media investments on the social media platform. Pradeep Singh, founder and director at Brand Street Integrated, echoed this data-driven shift. The marketing agency closely monitors content adjacency, sentiment analysis, and partner with third-party verification tools. "We're still present on X where it makes strategic sense, but we’re prioritising platforms that provide greater transparency and control," Singh stated.

A platform under scrutiny

While X still has cultural clout, the trade-off between influence and integrity has never been more difficult to navigate. Agencies advising high-stakes brands claim to have seen the trust gap widen.

Vikram Kharvi, CEO of Bloomingdale PR, noted, "Elon Musk’s erratic stewardship introduced unpredictability, not just in platform policies, but in the tone of discourse. From reinstating problematic accounts to weakening moderation protocols, the environment feels increasingly chaotic."

In a market like India, where global controversies can quickly spill into local backlash, this poses a special challenge. While X remains essential for real-time engagement and topical conversations, the trust calculus has changed.

"A few [brands] have even built parallel communities on LinkedIn, Instagram or niche platforms to diversify their digital footprint," added Kharvi. "It’s no longer about reach at all costs. We’re seeing a mindset shift: not just ‘what can this platform do for us’ but ‘what could it cost us tomorrow?’ That's where real planning begins."

Contingency is now strategy

The chaos of the past two years has made one thing clear: platform volatility must be baked into campaign planning. According to Panchal this has made it essential for brands to think beyond single-platform dependencies and develop preparedness plans.

Singh agreed. "We’ve learned to build contingency budgets and alternative channel plans into every campaign... Maintaining open lines of communication with platform partners helps us anticipate changes rather than react to them," he added.

But Kharvi would rather put it bluntly. He opines that brand reputation planning now needs a volatility clause. “We’ve advised clients to pre-identify exit points, diversify content across platforms, and design creatives agile enough to migrate," he noted.

Or as Kamal Sakpal, a senior marketer, succinctly put it, "If a CEO's tweet can instantly turn a media environment toxic, we need to ask deeper questions about where we build brand equity."

We in India, especially in tech industry, need to work harder too. Can’t be happy with where we are rn. https://t.co/fv86VHgB4Z

— Bhavish Aggarwal (@bhash) September 4, 2024

A platform in philosophical flux

Yaccarino's departure comes amid a deepening identity crisis for X. Many feel that X increasingly feels positioned as more than just a social platform; it’s evolving into a space where AI products and media intersect.

Singh suggested marketers must prepare for X becoming more of a tech partner than an ad platform. "We’re factoring in scenarios where X becomes less of a primary media buy and more of a data or tech collaborator," he said.

X feels less like a media platform and more like a test site for Musk’s bigger ambitions, and therein lies the problem for marketers. With Yaccarino’s departure, the last veneer of traditional media stewardship is gone, leaving a platform in philosophical flux, toggling between a town square, a monetisation playground now, possibly, an AI training ground.

Kharvi wondered, “Are we advertising on a media network or donating our content to an evolving AI experiment?" The ambiguity is forcing advertisers to move budgets elsewhere. "X is no longer a core media pillar, but a tactical tool," he said.

"Until X figures out what it wants to be, brands will treat it as optional," said Sakpal. "And for a platform that once defined cultural pulse, that’s a sharp fall from relevance."

AI first, ads later?

The social media marketing’s business model appears to be shifting too. As Ram noted, "X is at the early stages of evolving into a platform that delivers smarter, more personalised, AI-driven content experiences... but also introduces fresh challenges around content governance and brand safety."

That shift is being closely watched by marketers. If X becomes primarily a tech showcase for xAI, brands may lose the predictability and scale they rely on for effective media planning.

Himanshu Arora, co-founder of Social Panga, was emphatic: "For any monetisation to be sustainable, trust is non-negotiable... When algorithms go unchecked, brands pay the price."

One of Grok's posts that were deleted for being offensive.

Grok’s offensive content didn’t just expose AI flaws—it put a spotlight on X’s failure to ensure safe digital environments, fuelling more anxiety among advertisers.

No longer business as usual

The convergence of Yaccarino’s resignation, Grok’s meltdown, and Musk’s xAI merger signals a broader transformation of X from media platform to experimental tech project. And that change could be existential for advertisers.

"This isn’t just about Musk or moderation," said Kharvi. "It’s about the new rules of digital engagement, in an era where platforms can pivot overnight."

X might still claim relevance in real-time discourse, but it’s no longer a reliable foundation for long-term brand building. Agencies are responding by bringing contingency to the forefront, diversifying channel strategies, and asking bigger questions about platform alignment.

Because in this age of platform unpredictability, advertisers can’t afford to be bystanders. They need to be architects of their digital presence.

And that may mean walking away from the noise—and towards platforms where the rules are clearer, and trust still holds value.