This week on Tuesday, Twitter added a label to NPR’s official account on their platform, stating it to be a state-affiliated media outlet.
Essentially, this likens the network to others like Russia Today and Xinhua, despite it not being a direct expression of the government’s views.
Musk may have gone overboard this time
This change to the handling of similar accounts on the platform was pointed out by several Twitter users.
They recalled an earlier post from the official Twitter account where they claimed that NPR and similar media outlets aren’t in fact, state-affiliated. They have complete editorial independence, even if the government is involved in funding them to some degree.
Totally: the best way for a news outlet like @NPR to show they're not beholden to the US government and are unbiased is to have the WH Press Secretary rise to her feet in defense of NPR and heap praise on their great reporting:pic.twitter.com/ygTRFPMkiO
— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 5, 2023
The platform’s help center defines this in more detail, explaining that state-affiliated outlets are only those where the government is involved in the editorial process.
No matter how you look at it, it seems Twitter walked back what they’ve said themselves and it’s hard to argue NPR or BBC deserve these labels.
Of course, you can’t expect common sense from the woke crowd. Contradicting their own statements is practically a special skill of theirs at this point, so much that one could claim it to be self-sabotage.
However, if you look at Twitter’s help center now, you’ll find no mention of NPR; although they did leave the BBC in for the definition, despite the two being like peas in a pod.
NPR dismissed a laptop containing evidence of 459 crimes the Biden family and their business associates committed as "not really news" and a "distraction" days before the 2020 presidential election.
NPR continues to turn a blind eye to the Biden family's crimes, financial… pic.twitter.com/9DCwFGAVQS
— kanekoa.substack.com (@KanekoaTheGreat) April 5, 2023
Ever since Twitter went private, it’s been in a never-ending battle with the press and things will stay that way for a while, at least.
Twitter in need of some good leadership
In response to the changes, NPR president and CEO John Lansing expressed his distress with the situation, especially considering his media outlet was previously used to define an example of a non-state-affiliated outlet.
Seems accurate pic.twitter.com/nx5TmJY7GX
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2023
He explained that the millions of readers the outlet has are dependent on NPR for their daily source of independent, fact-based journalism they’ve been providing for years on end.
He went on to criticize Twitter for the mislabeling, mainly due to how important an outlet like NPR is to our currently damaged economy, seeing as it’s one of the few colorful free press channels remaining in the country.
BREAKING: The Biden White House calls out Twitter after Elon Musk surprisingly decides to incorrectly label NPR “state-affiliated” media on Twitter — the same label that Twitter gives to Chinese and Russian state propaganda outfits.
The Biden White House told Elon Musk that…
— Omar Rivero (@OmarRiverosays) April 5, 2023
It’s becoming increasingly difficult to pin down whether Twitter is fighting for or against the woke mob and this development certainly hasn’t helped with clarity on this matter.
NPR didn’t deserve such a label, especially if you consider what other networks have it and what sort of news they deliver.
Not a single piece of journalism from RT, if one could call it that, has even come close to being relevant. Even if it did, it was biased enough for every knowledgeable reader to avoid it in a wide arc.
This article appeared in Our Patriot and has been published here with permission.
