After National Public Radio declared it would stop tweeting in protest over being branded as government-funded, Twitter owner Elon Musk called for cutting all government funding from NPR.
A screenshot of an email from an NPR reporter asking Musk for his reaction to the outlet's actions and warning that it would "cause a chain reaction" among other outlets was posted alongside the tweet "Defund NPR," which Musk later deleted.
On their own website, NPR actually said that federal financing is necessary for public radio (the page has since been removed). What liars!" Musk added in a subsequent tweet. They probably won't care if they lose federal assistance in that situation.
The dispute started last week when Twitter labeled NPR as a "state-affiliated" channel, adopting the term the previous administration created to identify foreign broadcasters Washington didn't like. Even though all three have connections to governments, Twitter has clearly stated that such designations won't apply to "independent" Western media like NPR, Voice of America, and the BBC.
NPR complained, and Twitter altered the label to "government funded," but the organization claimed this also left a negative impression of them.
NPR announced its decision to stop posting on Twitter and start using Instagram and TikTok in a statement on Wednesday. "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," the statement read.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a non-profit organization created by the US Congress, founded NPR in 1970. According to US monitoring group InfluenceWatch, it obtains close to 10% of its income from federal, state, and municipal governments, much of it done so indirectly through licensing fees.
Its editorial stance has drawn heavy criticism for being overtly biased. Based on information from his son Hunter's laptop, which was discovered at a Delaware repair shop, NPR declined to broadcast the accusations of Democrat Joe Biden's influence-peddling during the 2020 US presidential race. It was referred to as a non-story, a "distraction," and a waste of time by a managing editor for NPR. Later, it was revealed that the narrative, which caused the New York Post to be restricted by Twitter's prior administration, was totally factual.
A screenshot of an email from an NPR reporter asking Musk for his reaction to the outlet's actions and warning that it would "cause a chain reaction" among other outlets was posted alongside the tweet "Defund NPR," which Musk later deleted.
On their own website, NPR actually said that federal financing is necessary for public radio (the page has since been removed). What liars!" Musk added in a subsequent tweet. They probably won't care if they lose federal assistance in that situation.
The dispute started last week when Twitter labeled NPR as a "state-affiliated" channel, adopting the term the previous administration created to identify foreign broadcasters Washington didn't like. Even though all three have connections to governments, Twitter has clearly stated that such designations won't apply to "independent" Western media like NPR, Voice of America, and the BBC.
NPR complained, and Twitter altered the label to "government funded," but the organization claimed this also left a negative impression of them.
NPR announced its decision to stop posting on Twitter and start using Instagram and TikTok in a statement on Wednesday. "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," the statement read.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a non-profit organization created by the US Congress, founded NPR in 1970. According to US monitoring group InfluenceWatch, it obtains close to 10% of its income from federal, state, and municipal governments, much of it done so indirectly through licensing fees.
Its editorial stance has drawn heavy criticism for being overtly biased. Based on information from his son Hunter's laptop, which was discovered at a Delaware repair shop, NPR declined to broadcast the accusations of Democrat Joe Biden's influence-peddling during the 2020 US presidential race. It was referred to as a non-story, a "distraction," and a waste of time by a managing editor for NPR. Later, it was revealed that the narrative, which caused the New York Post to be restricted by Twitter's prior administration, was totally factual.
