Linda Yaccarino takes over as Twitter CEO

Linda Yaccarino has officially taken the reins at Twitter, according to the former ad executive. 

“It happened — first day in the books!” she tweeted.

Ms. Yaccarino seems to have started much earlier than expected. When Twitter owner Elon Musk announced last month that she would assume the top job, he noted it would take six weeks. In half that time, she’s CEO.

While it isn’t clear what she did on her first day, it was certainly eventful. The site hosted a Twitter Space on Monday with Democratic presidential hopeful Robert F. Kennedy Jr. During the space, the candidate said the Democratic Party is controlled by pharmaceutical companies and that prescription drugs lead to mass shootings.

Mr. Kennedy’s trademark statements drew the predictable ire of mainstream media. However, Ms. Yaccarino seems dedicated to supporting Mr. Musk’s stated goal of a Twitter dedicated to free speech.

Also in Twitter Space, Mr. Musk talked about the financial situation of the company he is handing over to Ms. Yaccarino. He said Twitter has lost over half its advertising revenue since October, setting up the new CEO with a serious challenge. 

Many industry experts suspect that Ms. Yaccarino was selected in an effort to distance the company from Mr. Musk’s tweets and decisions at the company, although he remains wildly popular with conservatives who applaud his unbanning of many accounts on the right.

Ms. Yaccarino was previously the advertising chief at NBCUniversal and is expected to claw back some of the lost revenue from the past eight months.