News reports say the BBC has reached out to Twitter for clarification. (Representative)
Washington:
Twitter has backtracked after an uproar for labeling US radio network NPR as “state-affiliated media” and now calls it “government-funded”.
Elon Musk’s social media network has also applied that new label to the BBC, which is mainly funded by British families paying license fees.
News reports say Britain’s beloved national broadcaster has reached out to Twitter for clarification.
The change in how Twitter refers to Washington-based National Public Radio happened quietly Saturday night and came after the network complained that the term “state-affiliated” was derogatory and inaccurate.
Twitter last week branded NPR as similar to state-owned Chinese and Russian platforms.
Stopped tweeting in protest against NPR. In its updated Twitter bio, NPR’s main account — which has more than 8.8 million followers — invited users to “find us every other place you read the news.”
NPR CEO John Lansing said Twitter’s decision was “unacceptable” and the radio account has remained silent since then.
Other accounts run by NPR, such as its music and politics handles, did not have the “state-affiliated” specification and continued to post tweets.
Mr Musk’s move against NPR came just days after Twitter stripped The New York Times of its verified status on the platform, which, like NPR, is often accused of left-leaning, particularly by US conservatives.
In accordance with Twitter policy, the decision will not detail tweets from the two companies, limiting their reach on a platform that remains a major communication tool for media outlets, celebrities and executives.
Elon Musk has expressed a deep disdain for the news media for years and in recent weeks set up an automated response of a poop emoji to emails sent to the site’s main press address.
But on Thursday, NPR said Mr Musk had indicated in a series of emails that the relabeling might not be “accurate” and that Twitter would look into the matter further.
Musk wrote to NPR, “The only operating principle at Twitter is fair and equal treatment, so if we label non-US accounts as government, we should do the same for the US, but it seems Can’t be exact here.” ,
According to NPR’s website, the bulk of its budget comes from fees paid by member stations across the United States, which are themselves supported by individual donors and government funds.
NPR, one of America’s most respected news outlets, told AFP that less than one percent of its operating budget comes from federal sources.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)