National Public Radio is quitting Twitter over the social media companys recent actions under owner Elon Musk to stamp it with labels the news organization says are meant to undermine its credibility.
NPRs organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent, the news organization said in a statement Wednesday.
Last week, Twitter labeled NPRs main account as state-affiliated media on the social media site, a label also used to identify media outlets that are controlled or heavily influenced by authoritarian governments. Twitter later changed the label to government-funded media and gave it to at least one other public news organization, the BBC.
We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the publics understanding of our editorial independence, NPRs statement said.
NPRs chief communications officer, Isabel Lara, said in an email that NPR journalists and employees will decide on their own if they wish to remain on the platform, same for NPR member stations as theyre independently owned and operated.
NPR does receive U.S. government funding through grants from federal agencies and departments, along with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The company said it accounts for less than 1% of NPRs annual operating budget.
