NPR is leaving Twitter.
After being assigned the label “State-Affiliated Media” by Elon Musk’s bluebird, National Public Radio is leaving the platform in a huff; NPR’s budget is subsidized nearly 11 percent by taxpayer funds.
It will no longer post to its 52 official Twitter feeds.
“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,” NPR’s CEO John Lansing said in a statement.
From Breitbart News:
When questioned if NPR would ever return to the platform, Lansing cast doubt on the idea.
“I would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again,” he said. “At this point I have lost my faith in the decision-making at Twitter.”
NPR’s White House correspondent Scott Detrow the self-censorship decision on Twitter itself: “It’s the right move and I’m proud of us for taking it.”
The exit comes after Twitter initially labeled NPR as “U.S. state-affiliated media” in its bio. Lansing slammed the label as “inaccurate” and declared the organization was“disturbed” about the social media platform’s decision to be transparent about the subsidization of NPR.
NPR also published an article in its defense entitled, “Twitter labels NPR’s account as ‘state-affiliated media,’ which is untrue.” The article cited Yoel Roth, who was Twitter’s former head of trust and safety and a notoriously left-wing employee who equated members of the Trump administration with Nazis.
The news organization currently has the following tweet pinned to the top of its profile, which has been updated to include the phrase “Government-funded Media.”
— NPR (@NPR) April 12, 2023