NPR is boycotting Twitter after it was labeled as “US state-affiliated media” by the social media platform. Now Twitter owner Elon Musk is acknowledging that the designation may be unfair.
Bobby Allyn, a business reporter for NPR, reached out to Musk. He told the billionaire that the network is publicly funded, but not state media. Musk agreed that “we should fix it” if that is the case.
The “state-affiliated media” tag was also placed on Russia’s RT and China’s Xinhua News. Unlike those outlets, NPR only receives 1% of its funding from the government and has editorial independence.
“The operating principle at new Twitter is simply fair and equal treatment,” Musk wrote in an email to Allyn, “so if we label non-US accounts as govt, then we should do the same for US, but it sounds like that might not be accurate here.”
No change has been made yet, but Elon Musk did ask to see a report on the network’s annual funding. Allyn provided it. Musk concluded that the “US state-affiliated media” is being evaluated.
