NEW YORK (AP) 鈥 Twitter has labeled 香港六合彩挂牌资料 Public Radio as 鈥渟tate-affiliated media鈥 on the social media site, a move some worried Wednesday could undermine public confidence in the news organization.
NPR said it was disturbed to see the description added to all of the tweets that it sends out, with John Lansing, its president and CEO, calling it 鈥渦nacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.鈥
It was unclear why Twitter made the move. Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, quoted a definition of state-affiliated media in the company's guidelines as 鈥渙utlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.鈥
鈥淪eems accurate,鈥 Musk tweeted in a reply to NPR.
NPR does receive U.S. government funding through grants from federal agencies and departments, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The company said it accounts for less than 1% of NPR鈥檚 annual operating budget. But until Wednesday, the same Twitter guidelines said that 鈥渟tate-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.鈥
NPR has now been removed from that sentence on Twitter's website.
Asked for comment, Twitter鈥檚 press office responded with an automated poop emoji.
The move came just days after Twitter of its
鈥淣PR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,鈥 Lansing said. 鈥淣PR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable.鈥
The literary organization PEN America, in calling for Twitter to reverse the move, underlined that NPR 鈥渁ssiduously maintains editorial independence.鈥
Liz Woolery, PEN America鈥檚 digital policy leader, said Twitter's decision was 鈥渁 dangerous move that could further undermine public confidence in reliable news sources.鈥
