Twitter labels NPR as ‘US state-affiliated media’ in policy change

SAN FRANCISCO – Twitter has labelled the non-profit media organisation NPR as “US state-affiliated media” in the latest escalation of tensions between its billionaire owner Elon Musk and news outlets.

The label now appears on the public broadcaster’s Twitter profile and its tweets, and the designation means that NPR’s posts will not be recommended or amplified on the platform.

Twitter has defined state-affiliated media as news outlets where the government “exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution”.

The designation was reserved for outlets like Russia’s state-backed international broadcaster RT.

Previous versions of Twitter’s policy website made exceptions for the BBC and NPR, which the company called “state-financed media organisations with editorial independence”.

But a new version of the website makes an exception only for the BBC.

An NPR spokesman said the label “must be a mistake as it contradicts Twitter’s own guidelines”.

NPR has reached out to Twitter to have it removed, she said.

NPR’s two largest sources of revenue are corporate sponsorships and fees paid by NPR member organisations, according to the company. On average, less than 1 per cent of NPR’s annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from the United States’ Corporation for Public Broadcasting and federal agencies and departments.

Mr Musk has used

his role as Twitter’s owner

to agitate news organisations he does not like. He has banned journalists from the platform.

In recent days,

the main account for The New York Times lost its Twitter-verified badge

after attracting the ire of Mr Musk over its refusal to pay for the privilege.

Twitter has disbanded its press team, but Mr Musk weighed in, responding to a post of Twitter’s rules, saying it “seems accurate”. BLOOMBERG