Twitter puts 'state-affiliated media' label on NPR account

Twitter has labelled National Public Radio as "U.S. state-affiliated media" on its main account, a move the head of the media company called "unacceptable." 

It was unclear why Twitter made the move. The label appeared on NPR's main Twitter account on Tuesday.

Twitter's owner, Elon Musk, quoted a definition of state-affiliated media in the company's guidelines 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."

"Seems accurate," Musk tweeted in a reply to NPR.

NPR has asked for the label to be removed.

"NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable," its president and CEO, John Lansing, said in a statement. "It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy."

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 one per cent of NPR's annual operating budget.

But until Wednesday, the Twitter guidelines said that "state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the U.K. or NPR in the United States, are not defined as state-affiliated media for the purposes of this policy."

NPR has now been removed from that sentence on Twitter's website.

Asked for comment, Twitter's press office responded with an automated poop emoji.

Check mark pulled

The move came just days after Twitter stripped The New York Times of its verification check mark.

"NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide," Lansing said. "NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable."

The literary organization PEN America, in calling for Twitter to reverse the move, underlined that NPR "assiduously maintains editorial independence."

Liz Woolery, PEN America's digital policy leader, said Twitter's decision was "a dangerous move that could further undermine public confidence in reliable news sources."