NPR criticized the use of a’state-affiliated media’ label on the social networking site

Twitter Hasn’t Labeled The NPR Independent State-Found Editorial Organization With State-Affiliated Media

State-financed media organizations with editorial independence, such as NPR in the US and the UK, will not be labeled, according to what was said at the time. That stance was also reflected in Twitter’s official policy page, even as NPR received the label on Tuesday.

NPR and other similar outlets are not subject to state-affiliated media labeling since they are exempt from it under what’s termed “state-affiliated media” policies.

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.

NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding powerful accountable, and it is thanks to the millions of radio users that NPR is able to do that, according to NPR CEO John Lansing. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

NPR officials have asked Twitter to remove the label. They initially assumed it was applied by mistake, NPR spokesperson Isabel Lara said. We weren’t warned. It happened in a blink of an eye last night,” she said.

In response to an NPR email for this story seeking comment and requesting details about what in particular might have led to the new designation, the company’s press account auto-replied with a poop emoji — a message it has been sending to journalists for weeks.

Editorial independence of NPR journalists: In defense of a false equivalency between public broadcasters and editorial control of media by the government

“There is no doubt of the independence of NPR journalists,” Jean-Pierre said. You know this, if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of their questions.

Those criticizing the new label include Yoel Roth, who was Twitter’s head of trust and safety for nearly eight years. He quit from the micro-networking site in November.

“Establishing a false equivalency between public broadcasters and editorial control of media by government is misleading,” he said, “and undermines the essential work of providing transparency about state-backed propaganda efforts around the world.”

A behavioral scientist with the University of Maryland warned about the dangers of the move and that it could make it difficult to decipher which outlets are reliable and have editorial independence.

As part of its push to get people to pay for blue checkmarks on the platform, a new landscape will be created of verified and trusted accounts. Earlier this month, when the verified check mark on The New York Times’ account was taken down, experts warned that the initiative would give new status to misinformation peddlers.