Behind the New Twitter CEO’s World Economic Forum Ties

Twitter users are mourning the death of the platform: The hashtag #RipTwitter was trending this afternoon. And the feed was filled with posts and videos about Elon Musk’s newly appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino. Yaccarino was the head of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. She’s also a forum executive chair at the World Economic Forum. So is this the end of the platform? We’ll discuss.

And in other news, despite legal attempts to prevent it from happening, Mark Pomerantz, a former prosecutor tied in with the Stormy Daniels case against Donald Trump, had to testify before Congress today. We’ll discuss why this matters, and what it means for “justice” and accountability.

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Good evening and welcome to Crossroads!

Twitter users are mourning the death of the platform. The hashtag #RipTwitter was trending this afternoon. And the feed was filled with posts and videos about Elon Musk’s newly appointed CEO, Linda Yaccarino. Such a tragedy. And the platform was so young… it really seemed like it had finally turned a corner in its life.

Yaccarino was the head of advertising and partnerships at NBCUniversal. She’s also a forum executive chair at the World Economic Forum. And given the reputation of both NBC and the “great reset” advocates at the World Economic Forum, many conservatives view her appointment as Musk letting the platform slide backwards into its former state of politicized censorship.

Elon Musk, meanwhile, will transition to being executive chair and chief technology operator of the platform. Musk says he’ll be overseeing product, software, and systems. And after previously announcing that his dog, Floki, was promoted to CEO of Twitter, we can assume that Floki is stepping down.

Musk published his announcement on Twitter, stating “I am excited to welcome Linda Yaccarino as the new CEO of Twitter!” and noted he’s “Looking forward to working with Linda to transform this platform into X, the everything app.”
Public reactions, meanwhile, have been very mixed.

They began with people pointing to some of her past positions. Her LinkedIn page notes that from January 2019 until now, that in addition to her executive chair position at the World Economic Forum, she also “sits on the WEF’s Media, Entertainment and Culture Industry Governors Steering Committee” and is “highly engaged with the Value in Media initiative.”

The WEF page on the committee states that “The Media, Entertainment and Information (MEI) Governors define the industry agenda. The group, comprising chief executives and chairs from partner organizations, closely align the agenda with related System Initiatives.” The big concern now is whether Yaccarino’s new position as chief executive of Twitter aligns with the WEF’s agenda of using chief executives for its purposes. The WEF states that the focus of the “Governors” includes developing AI as a content platform, and on the “urgent need to restore content accountability in the media.”

The WEF “Value in Media” initiative, meanwhile, is a research project. It focuses on what it calls “ecosystem media.” The WEF page notes it’s now in the second phase of this program, and is looking to “measure the value media generate in society, focusing on new indicators of value such as quality, innovation and consumer welfare, and identifying metrics that better represent media’s contribution to other industries such as retail and e-commerce.”

The WEF describes this as “a strategic asset to access and monetize more lucrative parts of their businesses. These enterprises are highly effective at combining technology and content to expand business models, drive down marginal costs, increase personalization and engagement, widen methods of access, and create new media formats entirely.”

With this in mind, Twitter users are likewise concerned that her new role at the social media company will also serve the interests of the WEF.

Musk, meanwhile, has been actively responding to some of the concerns. In response to a post about Yaccarino’s background with NBC and the WEF, stating “and here come the shadow bans….again…..,” Musk wrote “That will not be the case.”

Twitter users took time to look into Yaccarino’s history of tweets and likes on the platform, and the consensus appears to be more on confusion. It appears that while she supports some social justice policies and has publicly promoted things like wearing face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic, she appears to also support some conservative narratives. One Twitter user noted, for example, that Yaccarino had liked a Tweet from journalist Jack Posobiec stating “So do you guys remember that time the FBI found a judge who worked for Epstein to sign off on a raid of Mar-a-Lago?” And she liked another Tweet from Thomas Massie questioning the integrity of the election systems in Arizona.
And while Yaccarino has some social justice views, she also follows several conservative accounts, including those of Tucker Carlson, Ben Shapiro, TPUSA, Mark Levin, Melania Trump, as well as others.
Elon Musk expressed his beliefs that “I think people from both sides of the political spectrum will find Linda to be smart, fair and reasonable.”

Musk also responded with “exactly” to a post from Ian Miles Cheong, which stated, “Twitter must be a platform for everyone. It cannot be a ghetto for the right, or the left. There’s a reason platforms like Gab, Mastodon, Truth Social and others fail to gain any traction with anyone—let alone advertisers.”

So what’s gonna become of Twitter? We’ll have to see. It does appear that the new CEO supports global initiatives that look to use platforms like this to advance certain agendas. At the same time, her Twitter feed does appear to avoid any signs of divisive politics. And when she interviewed Musk in April 2023, she also appeared relatively non-political and non-divisive.

It’s likely this is Elon Musk’s way of choosing someone who can appease both sides of the political aisle. Her ties to the World Economic Forum and her interests in social justice policies will have to align with Elon Musk’s repeated statements on his dedication to free speech. It’s possible the company will become less political, at least from the executive level.

This also of course aligns with former Fox News host Tucker Carlson announcing he’ll be starting a new show on Twitter, with a dedication to free speech, and with a focus on topics that the establishment media ignore.

It’s possible this could represent Twitter returning to what social media used to represent: a platform that allows people to freely express their views. Although we’ll have to see.

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Welcome back!

Despite legal attempts to prevent it from happening, Mark Pomerantz, a former New York prosecutor who investigated Donald Trump’s finances, had to testify before Congress today. New York City DA Alvin Bragg had tried stopping it. He filed a lawsuit against House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan just a few weeks ago, yet the judge sided with Jordan.

So what’s this all about? Well, you might remember how Bragg is charging Former President Trump for falsifying business records, relating to alleged hush money to porn star Stormy Daniels going back to 2006. Bragg essentially took a misdemeanor charge that was already past the statute of limitations, elevated it to a felony claiming Trump violated a federal law that Bragg didn’t specify in the charges, then multiplied this into 34 separate charges. Even many left-wing news commentators have noted the flawed case, and expressed their concern it could damage other charges now brewing against Trump. But regardless, Alvin Bragg is pressing forward.
Yet, Bragg is also being haunted by the ghosts of his own past. He had actually tried prosecuting Trump on a separate case before. Yet when he dropped the case, apparently because it just wasn’t strong enough, two of his prosecutors resigned on him. One of them had been working under Bragg as a volunteer. That was senior prosecutor Mark Pomerantz.
Trump pulled no punches on this. He stated in a March 20 post on Truth Social that Pomerantz previously, “WORKED AS A LAWYER FOR CROOKED HILLARY CLINTON AND HER LAW FIRM,” and that after moving to volunteer for Alvin Bragg as a lead prosecutor to “GET DONALD TRUMP,” he then “QUIT IN A HUFF WHEN D.A. BRAGG SAID THERE WAS NO CASE HERE.”
Trump noted that after Pomerantz resigned from his role under Bragg, he went on to publish a book about the case, which was an ongoing investigation. Pomerantz then did a media tour with the book, criticizing Trump and revealing details from inside the investigation. Trump claims that this action was unethical and illegal, and alleged that because of this “THE CASE IS NOW COMPLETELY COMPROMISED & REPORTS ARE THAT MARK POMERANTZ IS IN TROUBLE.”

And it’s the book that Pomerantz wrote about the ongoing investigation that is now causing both him, and Alvin Bragg, some trouble.

After Bragg announced charges against Donald Trump, the House Judiciary Committee launched its own investigation into whether the case was politically motivated. They’re focusing on the alleged “weaponization of justice,” and on whether the arms of law in the United States are being manipulated for political interests. The Committee’s chairman, Representative Jim Jordan, issued a subpoena to have Pomerantz testify before congress. This was done alongside House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer. Pomerantz signaled he had no plan to cooperate with the subpoena. Alvin Bragg sued Jim Jordan to shield Pomerantz from congressional oversight. But then a judge shot it down.
The judge determined that if Pomerantz can publish a book and speak with the media about the ongoing investigation, then how can Pomerantz and Bragg block Congress from asking questions about it? His own book tripped him up at the end. And it’s possible that Bragg himself may also have to testify.

Pomerantz appeared before Congress today. Unfortunately, details are slim, since it was a closed hearing. But we do know that sitting alongside him was a representative of DA Alvin Bragg’s office. It’s being speculated that the DA’s office could even now file legal or disciplinary action against Pomerantz for writing the book on the investigation.

For many Americans there’s an apparent lack of justice. We see what looks like the weaponization of our legal systems for political purposes. It feels like a regular occurance now to see Trump being accused of crimes, with shaky legal foundations. And he’s the former President, and a leading candidate to become President again in 2024. While we watch this drama play out, we also see many of the cases against Trump and others unravel. And people likewise start asking if we’ll ever see justice on the other side. Do we still have “equal representation under the law?” Does lady justice still wear her blindfold?
Of course, much of this is viewed through the lens of politics. It appears that the scales of justice are now being weighed alongside political interests. And those political interests appear to be against Trump, his supporters, and conservatives in general. At least that’s how it’s being perceived.

And when people don’t see justice get served on the other side, they’re liable to become despondent. They look at cases like the one we just discussed: how Bragg’s charges against Trump now appear to be blowing up in his face, thanks in part to Pomerantz.

Of course, justice is one thing. But politics are another. And people want accountability. We’ll see if anyone goes to prison for these issues eventually, but on the political level, that’s actually less consequential.
The reality is that public discourse is a form of accountability. In fact, it’s arguably a much more powerful form of accountability than even prosecution. Look at the charges against Trump. He could go to jail for the Bragg case, or potentially for others that get thrown against him. And when rumor had it that Trump would be arrested, what was Trump’s reaction? New York Times alleged that Trump wanted to get dragged away in handcuffs. There were different claims on this, but the general belief was that the image would be useful for Trump’s campaign.

In fact, even many people who hate Trump were publicly calling on Trump to not be put in handcuffs, and calling for a booking photo of Trump to never see the light of day? Why was that? It’s because they knew, and they even stated publicly, that Trump would use these politically, and the image of these could even win him the elections in 2024. In the end, Bragg’s office didn’t put Trump in handcuffs or or book him. And this was perceived as being motivated by this exact reason.

Again public discourse is a form of accountability. Public perception is more powerful than prosecution. A prosecution will not stop the political process, because public discourse matters more.

I was told something recently by a Brazilian journalist, who is now a political exile. He confided in Brazilian author and philosopher Olavo de Carvalho, shortly before he passed away, and he asked where is the hope for the world. Things seem so bad. Where can we find justice? Carvalho responded with one of the last things he’d say before his passing: “you cannot change politically, that which exists culturally.”

And this is true. History shows it. And we can see it now taking place. Throwing a politician in prison doesn’t destroy their popularity. Censorship doesn’t put an end to popular opinion. The external arms of force and law can only do so much to change the will of the people. Sometimes force even has an opposite effect, and transforms a public figure into a martyr. A symbol of what people believe in that can even be destroyed physically, yet live on even stronger within the ideas and beliefs of the public. And why is this? It’s because you can’t change politically, what exists culturally.

That’s all for tonight, folks. Thanks for joining us for this new version of Crossroads on weeknights at 7PM eastern on EpochTV.com. Also join me for a replay and a live Q&A weekday mornings at 10AM eastern. In the next couple of weeks, we will be adding interviews and more segments to the show, so stay tuned for that. And then starting this upcoming Monday, we will be broadcasting simultaneously on both EpochTV.com and NTD cable. For updates, follow us on social media @crossroads_josh. And as always, Stay informed, and stay free.