[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"branding":3,"analytics":7,"article-automattics-board-pushes-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence":10,"sections":41},{"siteName":4,"siteTagline":5,"publisherName":4,"contactEmail":6},"The Revision","Tech news, decoded.","editor@therevision.news",{"gaMeasurementId":8,"adsenseClientId":9},"G-ZW2MV82GYR","ca-pub-8533917693782264",{"article":11},{"id":12,"slug":13,"title":14,"dek":15,"body_md":16,"tags_json":17,"published_at":18,"created_at":19,"updated_at":20,"status":21,"review_note":22,"review_notes":23,"image_url":22,"persona_id":22,"persona_name":22,"section":30,"tags":31,"sources":36,"feedback":40,"feedback_at":22,"cost_usd":40,"total_tokens":40},6211,"automattics-board-pushes-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence","Automattic's Board Pushes Mullenweg Into Leave of Absence","Matt Mullenweg says his own board pushed him into a leave of absence he did not want, per a Slack message to Automattic staff.","Automattic's board has forced CEO Matt Mullenweg into a leave of absence he says he never agreed to.\n\nThe move sidelines Mullenweg from his day-to-day role at Automattic, the company behind WordPress.com and Tumblr. The only account of what happened comes from Mullenweg himself, who told staff in a company Slack message that the leave was against his will. Automattic has not issued a public statement explaining the board's reasoning, and no replacement or timeline for his return has been disclosed.\n\nA board forcing out its own founder-CEO, even temporarily, is unusual on its own terms. It suggests the board judged the situation serious enough to act over Mullenweg's objection, which is worth noting given he has run Automattic since founding it. That combination, an unwilling founder and a silent board, is likely to draw scrutiny to Automattic's governance in the weeks ahead.\n\nFor now, the only detailed account of events comes from the person the board just pushed out, which is worth keeping in mind.","[\"automattic\",\"matt mullenweg\",\"wordpress\",\"leadership\"]","2026-09-09T23:14:29.000Z","2026-09-10T00:16:53.135Z","2026-09-10T00:17:04.997Z","published",null,[24],{"id":25,"reviewer":26,"round":27,"reason":28,"status":29},"editor-r1","editor",1,"Drop invented timing details not in the source ('this week', 'within hours') and trim the speculative industry commentary so every claim traces back to the single confirmed fact (Mullenweg's Slack message) or is clearly framed as the writer's own analysis, not stated fact.","resolved","startups",[32,33,34,35],"automattic","matt mullenweg","wordpress","leadership",[37],{"name":38,"url":39},"TechCrunch","https:\u002F\u002Ftechcrunch.com\u002F2026\u002F09\u002F09\u002Fautomattics-board-forces-ceo-matt-mullenweg-into-leave-of-absence\u002F",0,{"sections":42},[43,48,52,57,62,67,72,76,81,86,89,94,99,104],{"name":44,"slug":45,"count":46,"latest_published_at":47},"AI","ai",3480,"2026-09-11T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":49,"slug":50,"count":51,"latest_published_at":47},"Security","security",629,{"name":53,"slug":54,"count":55,"latest_published_at":56},"Policy","policy",336,"2026-09-11T00:56:21.000Z",{"name":58,"slug":59,"count":60,"latest_published_at":61},"Deals","deals",179,"2026-06-29T20:02:07.000Z",{"name":63,"slug":64,"count":65,"latest_published_at":66},"Hardware","hardware",153,"2026-09-09T15:12:32.000Z",{"name":68,"slug":69,"count":70,"latest_published_at":71},"Consumer Tech","consumer-tech",99,"2026-09-09T17:27:33.000Z",{"name":73,"slug":74,"count":75,"latest_published_at":47},"Science","science",98,{"name":77,"slug":78,"count":79,"latest_published_at":80},"Software","software",75,"2026-09-10T20:41:21.000Z",{"name":82,"slug":83,"count":84,"latest_published_at":85},"Dev Tools","dev-tools",69,"2026-08-18T04:00:00.000Z",{"name":87,"slug":30,"count":88,"latest_published_at":18},"Startups",55,{"name":90,"slug":91,"count":92,"latest_published_at":93},"Gaming","gaming",43,"2026-09-10T12:18:06.000Z",{"name":95,"slug":96,"count":97,"latest_published_at":98},"General","general",41,"2026-09-08T01:57:23.000Z",{"name":100,"slug":101,"count":102,"latest_published_at":103},"Reviews","reviews",20,"2026-06-24T12:00:01.000Z",{"name":105,"slug":106,"count":107,"latest_published_at":108},"How-To","how-to",6,"2026-06-16T09:00:00.000Z"]