Twitter Removes “Government-Funded Media” Labels From NPR, PBS, Others After Backlash
deadline.comTwitter has removed labels denoting “Government-Funded Media” for news outlets NPR, PBS, the BBC and others after criticisms from the organizations that the label is not and accurate representations of their editorial independence.
NPR and PBS both ceased posting after the labels appeared last week. Neither have resumed as of Saturday morning after the denotation was removed late Thursday.
Also removed were “State-Funded” labels on international news outlets like RT in Russia and Xinhua in China. Twitter owner Elon Musk, who has presided over several platform-shifting changes since acquiring the company for $44 billion, said in an interview with the BBC that the labels were an attempt at transparency, and to be “accurate.” NPR on April 12 halted posting on its 52 official Twitter feeds after the label appeared.
PBS followed suit soon after. NPR reported that Musk told NPR reporter Bobby Allyn via email Friday morning that removing the labels “was Walter Isaacson’s suggestion.” Isaacson, the onetime chairman and CEO and of CNN and an acclaimed biographer, is working on a biography on Musk.
Read more on deadline.com