Twitter Labels NPR 'State-Affiliated Media'
Summary from the AllSides News Team
Twitter assigned NPR's (Lean Left bias) account a "state-affiliated media" label on Tuesday.
The Details: The social media platform apparently changed its guidelines to allow for the move. In part, Twitter's guidelines define state-affiliated media as "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." The guidelines formerly read, "State-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US for example, are not defined as state-affiliated media." They were then changed to remove NPR. BBC (Center bias) has not been labeled.
Key Quotes: Twitter head Elon Musk said the change "seems accurate." NPR CEO and President John Lansing said it's "unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy."
For Context: NPR says it gets "less than 1% of its annual budget, on average, from federal sources." Twitter uses the label for state news agencies such as Xinhua in China and TASS in Russia.
How the Media Covered it: Sources across the spectrum framed the labeling as inconsistent with Twitter's previous guidelines. NPR called the assertion "not true." Some left- and center-rated sources highlighted critics who said the move hurts press freedom.
Featured Coverage of this Story
From the Left
Twitter labels NPR's account as 'state-affiliated media,' which is untrue
Twitter added a "state-affiliated media" tag to NPR's main account on Tuesday, applying the same label to the nonprofit media company that Twitter uses to designate official state mouthpieces and propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China.
NPR operates independently of the U.S. government. And while federal money is important to the overall public media system, NPR gets less than 1% of its annual budget, on average, from federal sources.
Noting the millions of listeners who support and rely upon NPR for "independent, fact-based journalism," NPR CEO John...
From the Center
Twitter criticized after labeling NPR as ‘state-affiliated media’
NPR president and CEO John Lansing fired back at Twitter on Wednesday morning after the social media platform put a label on the news organization’s profile calling it “state-affiliated media.”
NewsNation partner The Hill reports this designation is one Twitter uses for state news agencies such as Russia’s TASS and China’s Xinhua.
“NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” Lansing wrote in a statement. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is...
From the Right
Twitter Changes Guidelines So It Can Label NPR As ‘State-Affiliated Media’
Twitter has updated its guidelines so that it can label NPR as a “state-affiliated media” company.
Twitter’s previous guidelines held “state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US for example, are not defined as state-affiliated media.”
Twitter appears to have reclassified NPR as “state-affiliated media” sometime Tuesday and then quickly updated its guidelines to justify the change.
“State-affiliated media is defined as outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production...
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