Twitter designated National Public Radio’s official Twitter account as state-sponsored media, angering left-wing journalists at the company and eliciting mockery from conservatives online. The words “US state-affiliated media” now appear under the account’s verification badge since the organization receives U.S. taxpayer funding.
According to The Daily Wire, After an account posted a screenshot of NPR’s label on the platform, Twitter CEO Elon Musk shared the company’s policy on labeling state-affiliated media. The policy defines 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.
NPR President John Lansing lashed out at the designation, claiming that the organization provides “fact-based journalism.” Lansing added, “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.”
WMAL host Vince Coglianese tweeted that the statement was written like a political campaign and criticized Lansing for not acknowledging the role of government funding in subsidizing NPR.
“Notice that he doesn’t even bother to acknowledge the role government funding does play in subsidizing NPR. This is written like a statement from a political campaign,” Coglianese said, quote tweeting Lansing.
NPR garnered attention from conservative pundits for its decision not to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election. NPR Managing Editor Terence Samuels explained the decision, stating that they did not want to waste time on stories that were not substantial or would distract their listeners and readers.
