Yet another major news outlet is leaving Twitter after the platform applied a “Government Funded Media” label to its account.
Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) spokesman Jason Phelps told Bloomberg News on Tuesday, “PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time.”
“We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely,” he added.
In a post on Wednesday, the NPR Politics account wrote, “NPR is stepping away from Twitter, and this includes this NPR Politics feed.”
NPR is stepping away from Twitter, and this includes this NPR Politics feed. Please read the thread to find other ways to find our work, including:
— NPR Politics (@nprpolitics) April 12, 2023
NPR Politics Instagram: https://t.co/UJ2HzXYsR0
NPR Politics newsletter: https://t.co/mrWXwUrXrn https://t.co/5kmu5kGogV
In a statement to The Hill, NPR explained, “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.”
“We are turning away from Twitter but not from our audiences and communities,” it continued. “There are plenty of ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music, and cultural content.”
The decision to stop posting on Twitter came after the platform applied various labels to several major news outlets.
Over the weekend, Twitter applied a “Government Funded Media” label to the accounts belonging to NPR, PBS, Voice of America, and the BBC.
In a statement to The Hill, the BBC said, “We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible.”
“The BBC is, and always has been, independent,” it added.
The new labels came days after Twitter designated NPR “state-affiliated media.”
Meanwhile, Monica Marks, a professor of Middle East Politics at NYU Abu Dhabi, tweeted, “Elon Musk’s Twitter labels editorially independent NPR & BBC ‘government-funded media,’ violating Twitter’s own definition of that term.”
Elon Musk’s Twitter labels editorially independent NPR & BBC “government-funded media,” violating Twitter’s own definition of that term.
— Monica Marks (@MonicaLMarks) April 10, 2023
Yet it applies no label to editorially state-tethered likes of Turkey’s TRT World, Tunisia’s TAP, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, or UAE’s The National. pic.twitter.com/vWE6eHNrIG
“Yet it applies no label to editorially state-tethered likes of Turkey’s TRT World, Tunisia’s TAP, Qatar’s Al Jazeera, or UAE’s The National,” she added.