BREAKING: NPR rage quits Twitter after being labeled ‘state-affiliated media’
“I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility,” NPR CEO John Lansing said.
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“I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility,” NPR CEO John Lansing said.
On Wednesday, National Public Radio stated that it would be "stepping away" from Twitter, and provided users with a list of alternative ways to access their reporting.
NPR stopped tweeting last week after being labeled "state-affiliated media," and although Twitter since tweaked the classification slightly to "government-funded media," the outlet had already made up its mind.
NPR CEO John Lansing justified his decision to stop posting on Twitter by suggesting it would be a "disservice" to his employees to share their reporting "on a platform that is associating the federal charter for public media with an abandoning of editorial independence or standards ... I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility."
"At this point I have lost my faith in the decision-making at Twitter," Lansing stated. "I would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again." He noted that individual journalists can still post personally on the platform.
NPR has described itself as a "private, nonprofit company with editorial independence," pointing out that it "receives less than 1 percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting."
The outlet recently changed its bio on Twitter. "NPR is an independent news organization committed to informing the public about the world around us," it now states. "You can find us every other place you read the news."
This is a breaking story and will be updated.
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