Last Updated: April 06, 2023, 04:21 IST
Elon Musk weighed in on the matter after NPR was labelled as “state-affiliated media” on Twitter. (File Photo)
NPR stated it was disturbed to see the outline added to all the tweets that it sends out
Twitter has labeled National Public Radio as “state-affiliated media” on the social media website, a transfer some nervous Wednesday might undermine public confidence within the information group.
NPR stated it was disturbed to see the outline added to all the tweets that it sends out, with John Lansing, its president and CEO, calling it “unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.”
It was unclear why Twitter made the transfer. Twitter’s proprietor, Elon Musk, quoted a definition of state-affiliated media within the firm’s pointers 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.”
“Seems accurate,” Musk tweeted in a reply to NPR.
NPR does obtain U.S. authorities funding via grants from federal companies and departments, together with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The firm stated it accounts for lower than 1% of NPR’s annual working finances. But till Wednesday, the identical Twitter pointers stated that “state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the United States, are not defined as state-affiliated media for the purposes of this policy.”
NPR has now been faraway from that sentence on Twitter’s web site.
Asked for remark, Twitter’s press workplace responded with an automatic poop emoji. The transfer got here simply days after Twitter stripped The New York Times of its verification verify mark.
“NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” Lansing stated. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable.”
The literary group PEN America, in calling for Twitter to reverse the transfer, underlined that NPR “assiduously maintains editorial independence.”
Liz Woolery, PEN America’s digital coverage chief, stated Twitter’s determination was “a dangerous move that could further undermine public confidence in reliable news sources.”
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(This story has not been edited by News18 employees and is revealed from a syndicated information company feed)