Earlier this week, Twitter labeled Washington-based National Public Radio (NPR) a “state-affiliated media outlet,” calling the reputable channel the same as Chinese and Russian government platforms. NPR executive John Lansing said Twitter’s decision was “unacceptable” and the radio account has since been muted.
In its updated Twitter bio, the main NPR account, which has more than 8.8 million followers and programs for a network of more than 1,000 radio stations across the country, invited followers to meet “wherever they read the news.” “.
“We stopped tweeting on NPR’s main account after they put this fake tag on it because every tweet we put out had to show it,” said Isabel Lara, an NPR spokeswoman.
Other accounts operated by NPR, such as their music- and political-themed accounts, did not have the “state membership” specification and continued to post.
The initiative by magnate Elon Musk — owner of the electric car company Tesla and SpaceX aerospace — against NPR comes days after Twitter released the verification seal of The New York Times. Like the radio network, the daily has been accused by conservatives of having a left-wing stance.
Fox News host and far-right guru Tucker Carlson honored the theme’s opening of his television space, after considering what happened “a rare sign of hope and progress.”
NPR claims the equivalence to Russian, Chinese, or Iranian resources is false because it “operates independently of the U.S. government” and gets its budget on average less than 1% from federal sources.
Source: DN
