Former CEO of YouTube (2014-2023). Google employee #16, rented her garage to Google founders in 1998. Oversaw YouTube through major content moderation controversies. Passed away in August 2024.
In January 2022, over 80 fact-checking organizations sent an open letter to Wojcicki calling YouTube 'one of the major conduits of online disinformation and misinformation worldwide' and stating YouTube's measures to combat misinformation are 'proving insufficient.'
Under Wojcicki's leadership, YouTube implemented strict COVID-19 misinformation policies starting in February 2020, removing content that contradicted WHO and CDC guidance. By September 2021, over 1 million videos had been removed for violating these policies.
Starting December 9, 2020 when states certified the election, YouTube prohibited content alleging election fraud. Removed multiple videos from Trump's channel and suspended it in January 2021 for violating these policies.
In 2019, Wojcicki donated $200,000 to the Team Trees initiative, a collaborative project between YouTubers and the Arbor Day Foundation to plant 20 million trees.
In June 2019, Wojcicki defended YouTube's decision not to remove Steven Crowder's videos containing homophobic harassment and racist slurs against journalist Carlos Maza. She apologized to the LGBTQ community but said the company needed to be 'consistent' with its policies. Channel was later demonetized but not removed.
Under Wojcicki's leadership, YouTube failed to detect over 1,100 videos posted by Russian trolls during the 2016 election cycle, almost all targeting African-Americans. This was acknowledged as a significant content moderation failure.
Wojcicki was among 40 business executives who publicly endorsed Hillary Clinton for president in September 2016. She contributed $81,265 in political donations during the 2016 election cycle.