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Billionaire Elon Musk is facing heavy criticism after a Twitter policy stating "state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US for example, are not defined as state-affiliated media" was changed to remove its mention of National Public Radio (NPR).
The rationale behind Twitter's decision to label NPR as state-affiliated media is still unclear but Musk pointed to the company's definition of "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."
He later tweeted this definition and "Seems accurate" in response to a post from conservative columnist Benny Johnson.
\u201c@bennyjohnson @NPR Seems accurate\u201d— Benny Johnson (@Benny Johnson) 1680663736
NPR's President and CEO, John Lansing, later responded to the new label with a tweet statement that the media outlet "stands for freedom of speech [and] holding the powerful accountable."
A complete statement reads:
“We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media,’ a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR."
"NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide."
"NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.”
You can see his post below.
\u201cNPR stands for freedom of speech & holding the powerful accountable. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy. \nMy full statement on the recent inaccurate Twitter label below:\u201d— John Lansing (@John Lansing) 1680707400
Many expressed their support for Lansing and NPR in response while others criticized Musk's move.
\u201c@johnlansing We should reconcile to the fact that Twitter logos, tick marks and labels are now pure nonsense.\u201d— John Lansing (@John Lansing) 1680707400
\u201cTruly insane. Elon Musk\u2019s Twitter has labeled NPR as \u201cstate-affiliated media\u201d a label it places on Chinese/Russian propaganda outlets. \n\nNPR gets less than 1% of its funding from the federal government and it\u2019s content is in no way controlled by the government.\u201d— Kaivan Shroff (@Kaivan Shroff) 1680707502
\u201cWhile we\u2019re talking about the \u201cstate,\u201d let\u2019s have a little clarity: NPR receives less than 1% of its funding from the U.S. Government. Welfare queen Elon Musk, on the other hand, got $465M from the U.S. Government for his electric car company. Just so we\u2019re clear.\u201d— George Hahn (@George Hahn) 1680718646
\u201cNPR has about a $300M budget. Gets less than 2% of that from government. So lets say $6M a year.\n\nMusk has gotten billions in subsidies/contracts from government. Does that make Twitter a state-affiliate media? \nhttps://t.co/Ri18hIms8h\u201d— Don Moynihan (@Don Moynihan) 1680688245
\u201cThe US government does not dictate editorial decisions of @NPR\u2019s newsroom.\n\n@elonmusk should explain why NPR is being equated to publications under autocratic control like Russia\u2019s @RT & China\u2019s Xinhua.\u00a0\n\nhttps://t.co/Iknzk56bxP\u201d— Jacqui Heinrich (@Jacqui Heinrich) 1680699417
\u201cThis is such BS. NPR gets less than 1% of it\u2019s funding from government sources. Willing to bet \u2066@SpaceX\u2069 gets more than that. Right @elonmusk ?? Every farmer in America should be labeled \u201cState-Affiliated\u201d since BIG part of their income is tax $. https://t.co/FyqJVuVVGL\u201d— Claire McCaskill (@Claire McCaskill) 1680721339
\u201cElon Musk has branded NPR a \u201cstate-affiliated media.\u201d This is a title reserved for state directed propaganda channels from authoritarian regimes like China & Russia. Elon is doing this to weaken the label and help Russian and Chinese propaganda channels look no worse than NPR.\u201d— Jake Broe (@Jake Broe) 1680766550
NPR receives government funding from federal agencies and departments, as well as the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. However, NPR reported that this funding represents less than 1 percent of its annual operating budget.
Twitter's press office responded to a request for comment with an automated poop emoji.
In response to Twitter's labeling of NPR as "state-affiliated media," literary organization PEN America called for the social media platform to reverse its decision, emphasizing that NPR "maintains editorial independence."
Liz Woolery, who is the digital policy leader at PEN America, argued that Twitter's labeling of NPR was a "dangerous move" that could erode public trust in trustworthy news sources.