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| NPR quits Twitter over 'government-funded' label | NPR quits Twitter over 'government-funded' label |
| (about 1 hour later) | |
| NPR is the first major US news outlet to quit using Twitter | NPR is the first major US news outlet to quit using Twitter |
| National Public Radio (NPR) has announced that it will stop using Twitter in a row over how its account is described. | National Public Radio (NPR) has announced that it will stop using Twitter in a row over how its account is described. |
| The US not-for-profit news organisation clashed with the social media platform over its decision to describe the outlet as "government-funded media". | The US not-for-profit news organisation clashed with the social media platform over its decision to describe the outlet as "government-funded media". |
| NPR says it undermines its credibility, as US government funding accounts for less than 1% of its budget. | NPR says it undermines its credibility, as US government funding accounts for less than 1% of its budget. |
| Twitter owner Elon Musk agreed to change the label on the BBC's account. | Twitter owner Elon Musk agreed to change the label on the BBC's account. |
| In an interview with BBC News on Tuesday evening, Mr Musk said he wanted labels to be truthful and accurate, but did not refer to NPR. | In an interview with BBC News on Tuesday evening, Mr Musk said he wanted labels to be truthful and accurate, but did not refer to NPR. |
| NPR said in a statement on Wednesday that Twitter was "taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent". | NPR said in a statement on Wednesday that Twitter was "taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent". |
| "We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public's understanding of our editorial independence," the statement said. | "We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public's understanding of our editorial independence," the statement said. |
| The decision makes NPR the first major US news outlet to suspend its use of Twitter, despite the organisation having 8.8m followers on the platform. | The decision makes NPR the first major US news outlet to suspend its use of Twitter, despite the organisation having 8.8m followers on the platform. |
| The outlet encouraged people to instead subscribe to its newsletters and follow NPR on other social media. | The outlet encouraged people to instead subscribe to its newsletters and follow NPR on other social media. |
| Mr Musk later reacted to the decision in a series of tweets criticising NPR and accusing the outlet of inconsistency in how it had previously described its funding model. | |
| On its website, NPR defines itself as "an independent, non-profit media organisation". | On its website, NPR defines itself as "an independent, non-profit media organisation". |
| It operates on a mixed-funding model that it says mostly includes corporate sponsorships, fees paid by NPR member organisations and donations. | It operates on a mixed-funding model that it says mostly includes corporate sponsorships, fees paid by NPR member organisations and donations. |
| Watch: Elon Musk's unexpected BBC interview... in 90 seconds | Watch: Elon Musk's unexpected BBC interview... in 90 seconds |
| Watch: Elon Musk's unexpected BBC interview... in 90 seconds | Watch: Elon Musk's unexpected BBC interview... in 90 seconds |
| Its decision to quit Twitter comes after the BBC disputed the same "government-funded media" label added to its @BBC account, which has now been removed. | Its decision to quit Twitter comes after the BBC disputed the same "government-funded media" label added to its @BBC account, which has now been removed. |
| The BBC operates through a Royal Charter agreed with the UK government, which states the corporation "must be independent". | The BBC operates through a Royal Charter agreed with the UK government, which states the corporation "must be independent". |
| Its public-service output is funded by UK households via a TV licence fee, as well as income from commercial operations. | Its public-service output is funded by UK households via a TV licence fee, as well as income from commercial operations. |
| On Wednesday, the tag on the BBC's account had been changed to "publicly-funded media". | On Wednesday, the tag on the BBC's account had been changed to "publicly-funded media". |
| Elon Musk says Twitter will change BBC label | Elon Musk says Twitter will change BBC label |
| Six things we learned from Elon Musk interview | Six things we learned from Elon Musk interview |
| Blue ticks disappear as Musk attacks NY Times | Blue ticks disappear as Musk attacks NY Times |
| Twitter has defined government-funded media as "outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet's funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content". | Twitter has defined government-funded media as "outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet's funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content". |
| It added that it may use "external sources" like Wikipedia to determine which outlets fall under the label. | It added that it may use "external sources" like Wikipedia to determine which outlets fall under the label. |
| 'Bold move' | 'Bold move' |
| Stephanie Edgerly, a journalism professor and researcher on audience insight at Northwestern University, said NPR's decision to quit Twitter was a "bold move". | Stephanie Edgerly, a journalism professor and researcher on audience insight at Northwestern University, said NPR's decision to quit Twitter was a "bold move". |
| Twitter has a younger user base that is educated and interested in paying for news, Prof Edgerly said, or in other words, "an audience that news organisations want to engage with". | Twitter has a younger user base that is educated and interested in paying for news, Prof Edgerly said, or in other words, "an audience that news organisations want to engage with". |
| On the flip side, she said that Twitter accounts for only a small percentage of where Americans get their news. | On the flip side, she said that Twitter accounts for only a small percentage of where Americans get their news. |
| A 2021 study by Pew Research Center suggested about 23% of Americans use Twitter, with seven-in-10 of those users regularly consuming news on the platform. That is smaller than the percentage of those who use and get their news from Facebook, Prof Edgerly noted. | A 2021 study by Pew Research Center suggested about 23% of Americans use Twitter, with seven-in-10 of those users regularly consuming news on the platform. That is smaller than the percentage of those who use and get their news from Facebook, Prof Edgerly noted. |
| The academic added that news outlets have grappled for some time with how to use social media, especially when news articles can appear side-by-side with misinformation and unmoderated content. | The academic added that news outlets have grappled for some time with how to use social media, especially when news articles can appear side-by-side with misinformation and unmoderated content. |
| Working with social media platforms collaboratively over the years has been beneficial, but Prof Edgerly said these partnerships at Twitter "have been crumbling" over the last few months. | Working with social media platforms collaboratively over the years has been beneficial, but Prof Edgerly said these partnerships at Twitter "have been crumbling" over the last few months. |
| As for whether other news organisations may follow NPR in pausing their activity on Twitter, Prof Edgerly believes NPR's not-for-profit status may have made it easier for it to quit the platform. | As for whether other news organisations may follow NPR in pausing their activity on Twitter, Prof Edgerly believes NPR's not-for-profit status may have made it easier for it to quit the platform. |
| "It'll be interesting to see if anyone follows," Prof Edgerly said. "It is a different calculus for other organisations." | "It'll be interesting to see if anyone follows," Prof Edgerly said. "It is a different calculus for other organisations." |
| In a staff meeting on Wednesday morning, NPR's CEO John Lansing said the company was looking to "de-emphasise Twitter," according to a tweet by NPR reporter Steve Inskeep. | In a staff meeting on Wednesday morning, NPR's CEO John Lansing said the company was looking to "de-emphasise Twitter," according to a tweet by NPR reporter Steve Inskeep. |
| "NPR says Twitter isn't used by most Americans; drives little traffic to NPR; and 'no longer has the public service relevance that it once had,'" Mr Inskeep tweeted, citing the CEO's comments. | "NPR says Twitter isn't used by most Americans; drives little traffic to NPR; and 'no longer has the public service relevance that it once had,'" Mr Inskeep tweeted, citing the CEO's comments. |
| Related Topics | Related Topics |
| Social media | Social media |
| Media | Media |
| Elon Musk | Elon Musk |