US-based NPR becomes first major news organisation to leave Twitter
Twitter had last week branded NPR in the same way as government-owned Chinese and Russian platforms.
What you need to know:
- NPR's clean break from Twitter comes after the highly respected news broadcaster had already suspended tweets from its main account when it received a label on the platform that said it was "state-affiliated media."
- Twitter had also applied that new label to the BBC, which is funded predominantly by British taxpayers via licence fees.
- Musk's move against NPR came just days after Twitter stripped The New York Times of its verified status on the platform, which like NPR, is often accused of left-leaning bias, particularly by US conservatives.
US radio broadcaster NPR on Wednesday said it would "no longer remain active" on Twitter, accusing the platform owned by Elon Musk of undermining its credibility and sowing doubt over its editorial independence.
National Public Radio's clean break from Twitter comes after the highly respected news broadcaster had already suspended tweets from its main account when it received a label on the platform that said it was "state-affiliated media."
Twitter had last week branded NPR in the same way as government-owned Chinese and Russian platforms. The social media network has since backtracked after an uproar and now calls it "government-funded." Musk's social media network had also applied that new label to the BBC, which is funded predominantly by British taxpayers via licence fees.
In protest, NPR stopped tweeting. In its updated Twitter bio, NPR's main account -- which has more than 8.8 million followers -- invited users to "find us every other place where you read the news."
NPR CEO John Lansing said the decision by Twitter was "unacceptable" and the radio's account has remained silent ever since.
Other accounts run by NPR, such as its music and politics handles, did not have the "state-affiliated" specification and have continued to post tweets.
Musk's move against NPR came just days after Twitter stripped The New York Times of its verified status on the platform, which like NPR, is often accused of left-leaning bias, particularly by US conservatives.
According to Twitter policy, the decisions will deamplify tweets from both companies, limiting their reach on a platform that remains a major communication tool for media outlets, celebrities and officials.
Musk has for years expressed a deep disdain for the news media and in recent weeks installed an automatic response of a poop emoji to emails sent to the site's main press address.
'Many mistakes' made since Twitter takeover
Musk said running the social media network has been "quite a rollercoaster" and acknowledged "many mistakes" along the way, six months after he bought the company for $44 billion.
In a live interview with the BBC after agreeing to a last-minute invitation for the "spontaneity" of it, Musk appeared to tacitly acknowledge that one of those errors was the decision to label the broadcaster's account "government-funded media".
He said he would change the designation on the BBC's Twitter handle after the broadcaster objected.
"We want it as truthful and accurate as possible –- we're adjusting the label to 'publicly funded'," Musk said.
Britain's national broadcaster is predominantly funded by an annual license fee set by the government but paid by individual households.
