Elon Musk gives ‘childish’ response to NPR quitting Twitter

‘Defund @NPR,’ tweeted the Twitter CEO when asked his reaction to NPR’s move

Twitter’s owner Elon Musk supported calls to “defund NPR,” escalating his hostility towards National Public Radio after the outlets’ accounts announced they would no longer be using the platform after Twitter falsely designated the outlet as “state-affiliated media”.

NPR announced it would suspend use of 52 affiliate accounts on Wednesday as Twitter faces increased scrutiny from press freedom advocates and news organisations.

“NPR’s organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” according to a statement from Isabel Lara, NPR’s chief communications officer.

“We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence,” she added.

Twitter 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.” The platform later changed NPR’s description to “government-funded media.”

Shortly after the announcement, Mr Musk tweeted: “Defund NPR.”

His reaction was quickly panned by critics who accused the Tesla CEO of acting like a “child”.

Mr Musk “is like a little child with a new toy,” wrote chef and activist Jose Andre. “Smart he is. And knows how to make money, he does. But he does a disservice to society and democracy. I wish he will grow up quicker. I can help. If you want to talk?”

Several others pointed to an article from The Los Angeles Times with the headline: “Elon Musk’s growing empire is fueled by $4.9 billion in government subsidies.”

NPR’s move marked the first major news organisation to step away from the once-influential platform under Mr Musk’s ownership, a period fraught with mass layoffs, press antagonism, a spike in hate speech and disinformation, and other chaotic policy changes.

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) followed NPR’s lead in announcing it is stepping back from Twitter later on Wednesday.

“Twitter’s simplistic label leaves the inaccurate impression that PBS is wholly funded by the federal government,” PBS said.

NPR says that less than 1 per cent of its annual operating budget comes from grants awarded through federal agencies and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a publicly funded nonprofit organisation with a board appointed by US presidents, and with a statutory obligation to a “strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.”

On 12 April, NPR’s main account posted a thread sharing other ways to find subscribe to its content.

NPR’s president and CEO John Lansing said in a statement last week that the company was “disturbed” to see the “state-affiliated” label, “a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR.”

“NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” he said. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also defended the independence of NPR journalists, telling reporters on 5 April that the outlet’s journalists “work diligently to hold public officials accountable and inform the American people.”

“The hard-hitting independent nature of their coverage speaks for itself,” she said.

Mr Lansing addressed the move in a letter to staff on 12 April.

“It would be a disservice to the serious work you all do here to continue to share it on a platform that is associating the federal charter for public media with an abandoning of editorial independence or standards,” he said.

The change to NPR’s account comes after Twitter removed the verification badge for The New York Times following reports that the newspaper would not pay for Mr Musk’s newly rolled out verification scheme. Other major US outlets including The Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Buzzfeed News, HuffPost and Politico also reportedly do not intend to pay.

Twitter announced it would begin removing blue checks from verified accounts that did not pay for Mr Musk’s “Twitter Blue” service on 1 April, but it appears that the plan has not been rolled out en masse; The New York Times appeared to be singled out by Mr Musk, who responded to another Twitter user asking about the newspaper’s badge status by saying “we’ll take it off”.

PBS, which also receives money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the BBC have also been designated as “government-funded” outlets.

In an interview with the BBC, Mr Musk said Twitter would change its labels for the British broadcaster to “publicly funded.”

“We’re trying to be accurate,” he said. “I actually do have a lot of respect for the BBC.”

When pressed whether the accurate “publicly funded” label would apply to NPR as well, Mr Musk said it would.

Until last week, Twitter’s own policy specifically stated that NPR as well as the BBC “are not defined as state-affiliated media.”

That language was removed.

“NPR receives public funding, but is not state-controlled, meaning Twitter’s listing could pose risks for journalists reporting from areas where suggestions of government affiliation have negative connotations,” according to a statement from Committee to Protect Journalists director of programs Carlos Martinez de la Serna.

Twitter also labelled US broadcaster Voice of America as “government-funded media,” through the outlet – a part of the US Agency for Global Media – is statutorily bound to independence from government officials.

“The label ‘government funded’ is potentially misleading and could be construed as also ‘government-controlled’ – which VOA is most certainly not,” spokesperson Bridget Serchak said in a statement to NPR.

Megan Sheets contributed to this report