Elon Musk has hired NBC executive Joe Benarroch — a former underling of NBC and World Economic Forum (WEF) executive Linda Yaccarino, the new Twitter CEO — to a senior role at the social media platform.
Free speech advocates were concerned by the elevation of Yaccarino, who had a history of involvement in WEF initiatives to curb online speech and had pressed Musk to give corporate advertisers more influence over content moderation at Twitter before she was hired.
These concerns will be heightened with the news that Joe Benarroch, a former colleague of Yaccarino at NBC, will be joining her at Twitter, given he was the network’s frontman in the censorship of pro-Trump, pro-Republican adverts warning against illegal immigration in 2018.
Profiles on Bennaroch, who is in a same-sex marriage, often harp on the need to be “inclusive” and “elevat[e] diverse perspectives”.
In a 2020 tweet to Yaccarino, who had said it was “time for action and working towards a more inclusive society,” he declared: “I commit to being open and inclusive in everything I do!”
Benarroch appears to be a believer in the woke iteration of inclusion, however, having shared pictures of himself watching drag queen shows with his adopted infant daughter online.
He is also the author of a children’s book, Rachel’s Dreams and Hats. The Facebook page for the book shared an “inspiring” quote from Hillary Clinton after Trump defeated her in 2016.