Twitter chief of security resigns after gender mismatch controversy

Ella Irwin has led Twitter's efforts to build trust and security since former CEO Yoel Roth stepped down in November. hours after Elon Musk criticized social media staff for criticizing a video in which transgender people are «incorrectly gendered.»

Ella Irwin, who has led Twitter's trust and safety efforts for much of Musk's time as head of Twitter, stepped down from the company Thursday night, while AJ Brown, head of brand safety, also left

< p>Ms Irvine did not elaborate on her departure, but it came after Mr Musk said employees at the company mistakenly restricted video access to The Daily Wire, a conservative news organization. Brown's departure was reported by the Wall Street Journal.

The departure comes after Jeremy Boring, co-founder of The Daily Wire, said Twitter had backed out of a deal to allow the news site to promote an article, a lengthy documentary video about gender issues called «What is a Woman».

He said Twitter refused to let the publication pay for the film's ads, would limit its reach, and called it «hateful behavior.» These measures meant the movie would not show up in algorithmic recommendations even for people who follow the account, while the hate behavior label means users have to click to watch it.

Mr Musk said: “This was the mistake of many people on Twitter. It's definitely allowed.

«Whether or not you agree with using someone's preferred pronouns, not doing so is rude at best and certainly not breaking the law.»

However, he said that the movie would not be shown along with the Twitter ad. «Advertisers have the power to decide what content their ads will be shown with, which will affect reach to some extent,» he said.

Elon Musk has struggled to balance his commitment to free speech with advertiser satisfaction since taking over Twitter. Credit: LUDOVIC MARIN/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

He added that Twitter will update its systems on Friday so that those who follow The Daily Wire can see the video in their feeds. He also said that the controversy would likely increase the number of video views.

Mr Musk has struggled to marry his commitment to free speech, which he says was the reason he paid $44bn (£35bn) for the video. Twitter last year due to advertiser demands.

Recently, it hired Linda Iaccarino, an experienced advertising professional, as the company's chief executive to improve relations with advertisers.

The Daily Video Wire, What Is A Woman?, shows several instances of people addressing transgender people with pronouns other than the ones they chose.

Twitter removed the misgender approach from its harmful behavior policy earlier in this year. Mr. Boring said the company told him the policy was still in effect, but was no longer explicitly stated.

Ms. Irvine has taken charge of Twitter's trust and safety since November, when the former CEO Yoel Roth resigned. Mr. Roth said Mr. Musk runs Twitter like a dictator.