NPR announced Wednesday it will no longer post content on Twitter after the social media company led by Elon Musk last week applied a label on its account reading “state-affiliated media” — a designation that was previously reserved for outlets controlled by governments in authoritarian countries.
“The platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” NPR said in a statement. “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 CEO John Lansing said he has lost faith “in the decision-making at Twitter,” and clarified the company would not immediately return to the platform even if Musk chose to remove the label altogether. “I would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again,” Lansing told NPR in an interview.
NPR Quits Elon Musk’s Twitter Over ‘Government-Funded’ Label
NPR’s chief communications officer, Isabel Lara, said in an email that “NPR journalists and employees will decide on their own if they wish to remain on the platform, same for NPR member stations as they’re independently owned and operated.”
NPR does receive U.S. government funding through grants from federal agencies and departments, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The company said it accounts for less than 1% of NPR’s annual operating budget.
