X, formerly known as Twitter, has reportedly laid off more than half of its election integrity team, including the team’s leader. This move has been partially confirmed by Elon Musk, who acknowledged the job cuts in a response to a tweet, suggesting that the team was undermining election integrity. The decision to reduce the election integrity team comes as the platform has faced criticism for its disinformation problem and had recently promised to expand the team ahead of the 2024 US elections.
It’s been reported that all four members of the Dublin, Ireland-based election integrity team, including their leader Aaron Rodericks, have been laid off. However, just before this, CEO Linda Yaccarino had stated the company’s plans to expand its safety and election teams globally.
Interestingly, X had recently announced its intention to hire a civic integrity and elections lead to combat disinformation on the platform. Aaron Rodericks, a senior manager leading the team, faced disciplinary action and suspension after allegedly liking critical tweets directed at Musk, Yaccarino, and X. Rodericks also obtained an Irish court injunction against baseless employment proceedings and reported receiving abusive messages after posting job openings for the integrity team.
Before its acquisition by Musk for $44 billion in the previous year, the company had around 24 employees dedicated to election integrity. Reports now suggest that there may be only six staffers left in this team, despite earlier indications from Musk that he would strengthen it. The reduction in the team comes as a surprise, considering that the “Trust and Safety” team at X was reportedly planning to expand its efforts to combat disinformation.
