Twitter removed the “State Media” label from the official National Public Radio account and replaced it with the “Government Funded Media” label.
The change was made after the social media site was widely criticized for giving NPR the designation.
Defenders of NPR – who’ve been outraged by comparisons to other state-owned stations akin to Russia Today and China’s Xinhua news agency – noted last week that while the station receives some funding from the federal government, it has full editorial independence.
The post asked NPR for comment.
Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted last Wednesday that NPR meets the definition of “state media” as “selling outlets where the state exerts control over editorial content through financial means, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or production control.” and distribution. “
John Lansing, president and CEO of NPR, issued a press release which read: “We were concerned to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘State Affiliated Media’, which per Twitter’s own guidelines doesn’t apply to NPR. “
“NPR and our member stations are supported by thousands and thousands of listeners who rely upon us for the independent, fact-based journalism we deliver,” said Lansing. “NPR stands without cost speech and holding the powerful to account.”
![Elon Musk's social media site, Twitter, has replaced NPR](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009444130.jpg?w=1024)
![Musk faced backlash at NPR's designation by Twitter last week as](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009252301-1.jpg?w=1024)
NPR correspondent David Gura posted a head-to-head comparison of Twitter’s rules, which was apparently redacted to remove mention of NPR as a media entity that has “editorial independence”.
“Yesterday, @elonmusk’s Twitter labeled NPR ‘state media’ despite company policy stating that the organization shouldn’t be labeled as akin to it has editorial independence,” Gura tweeted.
“Hours later, Twitter removed the reference to NPR in politics.”
“It’s unacceptable for Twitter to label us that way.”
![Musk has been a frequent critic of the liberal media.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000006689204.jpg?w=1024)
Twitter has now come into conflict with one other major public outlet, the British Broadcasting Corporation, which has been labeled by Musk’s website as “government funded media”.
In response, the BBC said it had contacted Twitter to resolve the matter “as soon as possible”.
“The BBC is and has all the time been independent. We’re funded by the British public through royalties.” The BBC said in response to tag Twitter on Monday.
Musk later tweeted that he considered the BBC to be one in every of the “least biased” media outlets.
He also suggested that he try to incorporate a label that more accurately describes the news service.
![Defenders of NPR noted that the organization received government funding but was editorially independent.](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009270792.jpg?w=1024)
In an email to the BBC, Musk wrote: “We try for max transparency and accuracy. The link to ownership and funding source probably is smart.”
“I feel media organizations must be self-aware and never falsely claim to be completely freed from bias,” Musk wrote.
“All organizations have prejudices, some in fact rather more so than others. I should note that I follow BBC News on Twitter as I feel it’s one in every of the least partisan.”
![The BBC protested Twitter's decision to tag him](https://nypost.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2023/04/NYPICHPDPICT000009444131.jpg?w=1024)
Every UK household is required by law to pay an annual license fee of $200. These funds are then used to support the BBC news service in addition to its range of radio and web programmes.
Musk has made fighting media bias a key a part of Twitter’s governance, whose previous leadership stopped The Post reporting from being shared on Hunter Biden’s laptop within the weeks and months leading as much as the 2020 presidential election.