Latest / Elon Musk Podcast / Twitter Labels NPR as "State-Affiliated Media" Sparking Backlash and Concerns Over Public Confidence in News
Transcript
- 0:06Twitter recently labeled national public radio or NPR as
- 0:10state-affiliated, media on the social media site, a move that
- 0:14has raised concerns about public confidence in the news
- 0:17organization and NPR has expressed his dismay over the
- 0:21description added to all of the tweets.
- 0:23It sends out with John Lansing, its president and CEO calling it
- 0:28unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way and the reason
- 0:32behind Twitter said move is kind of unclear, but it came just
- 0:35days after the company stripped, the New York Times of its
- 0:39verification check mark in the labeling of NPR is State.
- 0:42Affiliate media is a serious blow to its reputation and could
- 0:46undermine public confidence in its reporting.
- 0:50The move by Twitter has sparked a backlash among journalists and
- 0:54Free Speech Advocates who have criticized the company for his
- 0:57decision. And it is particularly
- 0:59concerning given the outgoing attacks on the Press by the
- 1:03former President Trump. Who regularly labeled the me.
- 1:06A as fake news and the enemy of the people.
- 1:12Now NPR has expressed its dismay over the description added to
- 1:16all of the tweets. It sends out and it's
- 1:19unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.
- 1:22A representative of NPR has said, in the reason behind this
- 1:28is still unclear Elon Musk quoted it a fit, a definition of
- 1:33state-affiliated media in the company's guideline as Outlets
- 1:37where the state exercises control over editorial content,
- 1:40through financial resources, direct or indirect political
- 1:44pressures and or control over production and distribution now,
- 1:50however NPR does receive US Government funding through
- 1:53grants from federal agencies and departments along with the
- 1:56Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
- 1:58The company said it accounts for less than 1% of NPR's annual
- 2:03operation budget. But until Wednesday, The same
- 2:06Twitter guidelines said that state finance media,
- 2:09organizations, with editorial Independence, like the BBC in
- 2:13the UK or NPR in the United States are not defined as
- 2:17state-affiliated media for the purposes of this policy.
- 2:21Now, NPR has now been removed from that sentence on Twitter's
- 2:25website, the move came just days after Twitter strip, the New
- 2:30York Times of its verification. Check mark in NPR in its member
- 2:33stations are supported by millions of listeners.
- 2:36Who depend on them, for independent fact-based
- 2:39journalism, in a stands, for freedom of speech, and holding
- 2:42the powerful accountable and the literary organization pain.
- 2:46America has called for Twitter to reverse the move underlining
- 2:50that NPR maintains editorial Independence.
- 2:54I went to statement, Liz Woolery pain, America's digital policy
- 2:58leader said that Twitter's decision was a dangerous move,
- 3:01that could further undermine public confidence in reliable
- 3:04news sources. She had That NPR is a model for
- 3:08independent journalism and a suggest otherwise threatens the
- 3:11entire news ecosystem, Twitter, must immediately reverse this
- 3:16decision, they said and NPR is one of the most trusted news
- 3:20organizations in the United States.
- 3:23They provide impartial and objective coverage of the news
- 3:26and they've won numerous awards for its reporting, including the
- 3:29prestigious Peabody Award as a strong reputation for holding
- 3:32the powerful accountable, the labeling of NPR is state.
- 3:36Affiliated media is a serious blow to the reputation of NPR
- 3:40and could undermine the public confidence in its overall
- 3:44reporting and its brand. And the move by Twitter, spark
- 3:48some backlash among journalists and Free Speech, Advocates after
- 3:53they've been labeled, state-run, news or fake news.
- 3:57The labeling of NPR is state-affiliated.
- 4:00Media could be seen as a part of a broader campaign to discredit
- 4:03the media and undermine public Trust in journalism.
- 4:08Now, Twitter has been criticized in the past for its handling of
- 4:10misinformation and disinformation on the platform
- 4:14and the company has taken steps to address these issues such as
- 4:17labeling tweets that contain false information, and banning
- 4:21accounts. That spread misinformation.
- 4:23However, the labeling of NPR is State affiliate.
- 4:26Media appears to be a misstep that could do more harm than
- 4:30good. And the move by Twitter, is also
- 4:33raised questions about the company's relationship with Elon
- 4:35Musk who has been known to use the platform to make
- 4:38controversial statements and promote his own interests musk
- 4:42has been criticized in the past for his attacks, on the media,
- 4:45and his decision to label in PR is state-affiliated.
- 4:48Media has been seen by some as part of his ongoing campaign
- 4:51against the Press. Now, when response to the
- 4:54backlash, Twitter has not issued a formal statement on the
- 4:57matter. The company is only responded
- 4:59with an automated. Did poop emoji when asked for
- 5:02comment. And the lack of a response from
- 5:04Twitter is only added to the frustration felt by journalists
- 5:08and Free Speech Advocates, who are calling for the company to
- 5:12reverse. Its decision.
- 5:13Now NPR has refused to tweet from its main account, since all
- 5:19of this started, which boasts more than 8 million followers
- 5:23until their Twitter CEO. Elon musk's removing of the
- 5:27false label, that designates news.
- 5:31Ian is state-affiliated Media. Musk himself recently admitted
- 5:35to an NPR reporter. That is designation of the media
- 5:38outlet might not be accurate, and that he has some evaluating
- 5:43of the label on the nonprofit, media orgs account, despite this
- 5:48in PR was still falsely designated as state-controlled
- 5:52on the social media site, has a Friday.
- 5:54And the label in question, categorises Outlets, where the
- 5:57state exercises control over editorial content, through
- 6:01Financial Resources, Director in Direct political pressures and
- 6:05or control over production and distribution of the media.
- 6:09It's an inaccurate label applied to NPR according to NPR, which
- 6:13only receives one percent of its funding from the federal
- 6:16government. Now, it's unclear.
- 6:18Why Elon Musk suddenly decided to place just NPR in the same
- 6:23category as Chinese and Russian government propaganda.
- 6:26However, musk did react positively to some influencers
- 6:31who tweeted exclaiming Get Wrecked.
- 6:33Over the state Affiliated, me Z media, designation musk replied
- 6:39with seems accurate. Alongside a screenshot of
- 6:42Twitter, help centers definition of the term, now other
- 6:46conservative musk fans, predictably applauded the move
- 6:50by the billionaire, and are making him feel comfortable with
- 6:54this decision. Twitter, however, stealth edited
- 6:58its own guidelines. Following the change to NPR's
- 7:01bio prior to placing it on. Our with Artie and Sputnik.
- 7:05That's like actually cited NPR is an example of state finance
- 7:08media, organizations, with editorial Independence and that
- 7:12should not be labeled as state-run while Free Press
- 7:16Advocates and journalists took Twitter to task over the
- 7:18inaccurate. Labeling noting the NPR receives
- 7:21only 1% of its funding from the federal government.
- 7:24The outlet itself fire back, they said we were Disturbed to
- 7:29see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR is state-affiliated
- 7:32Media. It is scription then / Twitter.
- 7:35Some guidelines does not apply to NPR NPR president and CEO
- 7:40John Lansing said on Wednesday. He also said NPR and our member
- 7:43stations are supported by millions of listeners, who
- 7:47depend on us for the independent fact-based journalism, we
- 7:51provide and PR stands for freedom of speech and holding
- 7:54the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter
- 7:58to label us this way. And since early last week or and
- 8:03PR has deliberately not tweeted from its main account, though,
- 8:07it is posted from affiliate accounts that are not labeled as
- 8:10state-run and the outlets reporters continue to tweet on
- 8:14their own now and PR is also changed as Twitter bio which now
- 8:18reads NPR is an independent news organization committed to
- 8:22informing the public about the world around us.
- 8:24You can find us every other place that you read the news and
- 8:28at the same time, the NPR spokesperson told The Daily
- 8:32Beast. This shouldn't be characterized
- 8:35as a Twitter boycott because the outlet is merely pushing for the
- 8:38false designation to be dropped from its main account.
- 8:43Thank you so, much for listening today.
- 8:45I appreciate your time and I appreciate you spending your
- 8:47time here with me. Now, if you like independent
- 8:51journalism, like this, please take a second and hit.
- 8:54The Subscribe or follow button on whatever platform you're on,
- 8:58helps out the show a little bit and gets you the news about Elon
- 9:01Musk and all of his companies. Including Twitter SpaceX Tesla,
- 9:06everything else. He has his hands in on a daily
- 9:08basis. So, thank you so much for doing
- 9:10that. And thank you again, have a
- 9:14great weekend and I'll see you next time.