Twitter labels NPR a “state affiliate”

Public service company NPR — which claims to operate completely independently of the US government — responded with dismay at Twitter’s decision.

“NPR stands for freedom of expression and accountability for those in power. It is unacceptable for Twitter to characterize us as such. A free, strong, and vibrant press is essential to the well-being of our democracy,” CEO John Lansing said in a statement. Published by NPR.

The company states that it receives less than one percent of its annual budget from the US government.

The answer: Poop emoji

NPR account tagging is the same as Twitter uses to label accounts that openly act as government mouthpieces or propaganda agencies in countries like China and Russia.

When NPR emailed Twitter’s press department to ask for clarification, they got an automatic response with a poop emoji — a message that Twitter According to NPR Sent to reporters for several weeks.

according to Twitter’s privacy policy The label in question is used for media companies where “the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or control over production and distribution.” Most recently, on Tuesday, the policy specifically stated that “state-funded media organizations such as the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US” were not defined as state lines — now deleted.

Expensive reviews

Since Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, took over Twitter in 2022, scandals have followed one another. Among other things, shortly after the acquisition, Musk chose to drastically reduce the workforce. At the same time, question marks have been piling up surrounding where Musk is headed on Twitter.

Last week, several media outlets criticized the monthly fee that Twitter charges for the blue tick that “verifies” accounts on the social network.

For example, have New York times They lost their money because they refused to pay a fee of $1,000 a month, roughly equivalent to SEK 10,000.