Twitter CEO Elon Musk and the prominent media outlet National Public Radio (NPR) are engaged in a spat that has culminated with the media company pulling its main account and its affiliates out of Twitter.
Elon Musk floated the idea of ‘defunding’ NPR after it quit Twitter over its conflict with Musk, who labeled the outlet ‘government-funded media’ and said it was not ‘editorially independent.’
Musk replied to an email from NPR reporter Bobby Allyn publicly on Twitter rather than emailing him back directly.
The reporter asked about Musk’s reaction to the platform moving off Twitter.
‘What’s your reaction?’ Allyn questioned the Twitter CEO.
Musk replied on Twitter: ‘Defund NPR.’
Defund @NPR
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 12, 2023
On Wednesday morning, NPR announced that it would cease using Twitter after being given a ‘state-affiliated media’ tag that was later downgraded to ‘government-funded media.’ The tag was previously reserved for Chinese and Russian media outlets.
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NPR said it would not post on Twitter because the tag ‘undermines its credibility.’
‘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,’ They said.
News: NPR becomes first major news org to stop using Twitter, saying that the Elon Musk-owned platform “is taking actions that undermine our credibility.”
“We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility…” pic.twitter.com/mtgprKRRfI
— Oliver Darcy (@oliverdarcy) April 12, 2023
‘We are turning away from Twitter but not our audiences and communities.’ They said of their decision to leave the platform.
NPR President and CEO John Lansing echoed the company’s public statement, saying that the decision was made to protect NPR’s credibility. He also said that he lost faith in Twitter’s leadership.
‘I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility,’ he said in an 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.’
Last week, Lansing decried the decision to label NPR ‘state-affiliated media.’
‘NPR stands for freedom of speech [and] holding the powerful accountable… 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” Lansing said.
NPR stands for freedom of speech & holding the powerful accountable. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.
My full statement on the recent inaccurate Twitter label below: pic.twitter.com/kdusUNtNUo— John Lansing (@johnlansing) April 5, 2023
‘NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,’ he concluded.
Join your fellow patriots and subscribe to our Youtube channel.
After Twitter decided to extend its ‘state-affiliated media’ label to western media with a ‘government-funded media’ label, which also applies to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Musk sat down for an interview with the outlet to defend his decision.
‘We’re trying to be accurate,’ he said in the interview. ‘I actually do have a lot of respect for the BBC, ‘ Musk said.
After the interview, Twitter labeled the BBC as ‘publicly funded,’ a seemingly symbolic concession.
UPDATE: Twitter will change the BBC's label to "publicly-funded", Elon Musk says.
Musk: "We're trying to be accurate". https://t.co/UxCvSa8Bg3
— TLDR News UK (@TLDRNewsUK) April 12, 2023
Musk got into a viral confrontation with the interviewer about Twitter’s moderation of hate speech on the platform.
The interviewer claimed that there had been an increase in hate speech on the platform since Musk took over.
Musk challenged him to substantiate his claims, and he struggled to name a single instance where hate speech was permitted.
WATCH: The moment @elonmusk confronts @BBC reporter @JamesClayton5 for not being able to provide a single example of hate speech he has witnessed on Twitter.
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Elon also points out the BBC’s double standards regarding Covid misinformation. pic.twitter.com/EBRCcOrTP4— Censored Men (@CensoredMen) April 12, 2023
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