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The US state-sponsored media network National Public Radio (NPR) announced on Wednesday that it is ceasing its activity on the social media platform Twitter after the site labeled it a government-funded organization.
After National Public Radio said it would no longer post new content to its 52 official Twitter accounts, Elon Musk proposed defunding the news organization.
“Defund NPR,” Musk wrote on Twitter.
The US state-sponsored media network National Public Radio announced on Wednesday that it is ceasing its activity on the social media platform Twitter after the site labeled NPR as “US state-affiliated media” and more recently “government-funded media."
The prior label had typically been applied to Twitter accounts of state media outlets in non-Western countries such as China and Russia that were accused of lacking editorial independence.
NPR was founded following the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which issued the congressional corporate charter for NPR’s parent organization, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Twitter also flagged the accounts of the BBC as "state-funded media."
In 2020, Twitter's administration reported that it had begun tagging media pages that it believed were under the control of authorities, as well as the accounts of authorities of permanent members of the UN Security Council, key government officials, including foreign ministers, ambassadors, official representatives, and major diplomatic leaders.
“Federal funding is essential to public radio’s service to the American public and its continuation is critical for both stations and program producers, including NPR,” the message on NPR’s website says.
“NPR literally says federal funding is *essential* on their website right now,” Musk added. “What have you got against the truth @NPR?”
Defund @NPR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 12, 2023
NPR says it derives “less than 1 percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.” The bulk of its revenue comes from sponsorship deals and customer fees.
The Post has reached out to NPR for comment on Musk’s remarks.
Twitter initially slapped NPR’s main account with a “state-affiliated media” label – the same designation it gives to outlets such as Russia Today and China’s state-run Xinhua news agency.
NPR literally says Federal funding is *essential* on their website right now at https://t.co/QA8TUZxmNO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 13, 2023
What have you got against the truth @NPR? pic.twitter.com/3W0X0MsZYW
At the time, Musk cited Twitter’s guidelines that defined “state-affiliated media” as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”
NPR argued the label was inaccurate because it is run as an independent nonprofit.
After facing pushback from NPR and other critics, Twitter softened its stance and changed the label to “government-funded media.” The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBS) has the same label on Twitter.
Despite the change, NPR said it was quitting Twitter altogether, citing concerns that Musk’s moves would impact its journalistic credibility
“NPR’s organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” NPR said in a statement
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) also announced plans to quit Twitter after the site gave its account the same “government-funded media” label.
“Defund @NPR,” Musk wrote on Wednesday afternoon as he fired off numerous tweets attempting to justify the decisions that ultimately drove the outlet off the website. Earlier that day, NPR said that it will no longer be posting on the website after Twitter labeled its account “state-affiliated media.”
“At this point I have lost my faith in the decision-making at Twitter,” said NPR CEO John Lansing, adding that he “would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again,” before deciding whether NPR would ever return to the platform
Since the declaration, Chief Twit has taken to his own platform to share an email between himself and NPR Tech Reporter Bobby Allyn. In the email, Allyn questioned if the news outlet's response will 'cause a chain reaction among news [organizations].'
'What's your reaction?' Allyn questioned the billionaire.
Musk simply replied on Twitter: 'Defund NPR.'
Earlier on Wednesday, NPR revealed it would stop using the popular social media app over the tag, saying: 'We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public's understanding of our editorial independence.
'We are turning away from Twitter but not our audiences and communities.'
NPR also noted in an article that the company only receives less than one percent of its $300million budget through the federally-funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
In its final tweets, the company plugged its other social platforms, including Facebook, where it posted a link, titled: 'NPR quits Twitter after being falsely labeled as "state-affiliated media."'
NPR is boarding up its Twitter pages to protect its credibility, according to NPR President and CEO John Lansing.
'I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility,' he said in the article. 'At this point, I have lost my faith in the decision-making at Twitter. I would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again.'
In addition, three of NPR's member stations - KCRW, WESA, and WEKU - have also gone dark on Twitter.
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