Twitter labels NPR as government propaganda

‘State-affiliated media’ tag comes after Elon Musk took action against the account for The New York Times

NPR received a ‘state-affiliated media’ label from Twitter on 5 April, 2023, despite claiming that less than 1 per cent of its operating budget comes from government funding (iStock/ Getty Images)

Twitter has labelled National Public Radio in the US as “state-affiliated media”, placing it alongside outlets from Russia and China associated with government propaganda.

The move comes at a time when Twitter’s policies are under close scrutiny. An investigation by Semafor, published on Wednesday, found that Twitter is no longer policing accounts run by Chinese and Russian state-controlled media.

NPR said it was “disturbed” by the new tag, with president and chief executive John Lansing saying it was “unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.”

He added: “NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide.”

NPR claims that US government funding accounts for less than 1 per cent of its annual operating budget.

Until Wednesday, Twitter’s guidelines made an exception for NPR within its guidelines, alongside the BBC, on the basis that these outlets maintain editorial independence. As of Thursday, the BBC’s main Twitter account remains without the ‘state-affiliated media’ tag.

“State-financed media organisations 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,” the guidelines stated.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk cited a different part of the company’s guidelines, which state, “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”

He commented: “Seems accurate.”

It is unclear why the action was taken against NPR, but Mr Musk has previously taken action based on personal grievances with other publications.

Earlier this week, Twitter stripped the New York Times of its verified badge after the newspaper said it would not pay for the check mark. No other publication appeared to be targeted.

Twitter did not respond to a request for comment from The Independent about NPR’s new label, with the company’s communications department heavily impacted by the mass layoffs following Mr Musk’s takeover in November.

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