NPR has decided to stop using Twitter on the heels of Elon Musk’s social media juggernaut temporarily labeling its account "state-affiliated media."
The move is significant as the left-leaning outlet is the first major news organization to essentially quit the platform.
"NPR’s 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," NPR said in a statement.
"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 continued. "We are turning away from Twitter but not from our audience and communities. There are plenty of ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music, and cultural content."
TWITTER REMOVES NPR'S 'STATE-AFFILIATED' DESIGNATION, REPLACES IT WITH 'GOVERNMENT FUNDED' LABEL
Earlier this week, Twitter removed the "state-affiliated media" label it placed on NPR’s account and replaced it with a label that reads, "government funded media." NPR’s main account has 8.8 million followers and has 52 different Twitter feeds. It does not appear it will deactivate its accounts.
It had not used the platform since April 4 until announcing it would stop using it altogether on Wednesday.
Twitter’s media relations department responded with an automated reply of a poop emoji when Fox News Digital emailed a request for comment.
NPR tweeted a thread informing its consumers of other platforms where content can be found, including newsletters, apps and other social media platforms.
NPR LABELED 'STATE-AFFILIATED MEDIA' ON TWITTER, SAME AS RUSSIA'S RT AND CHINA'S XINHUA
NPR was initially slapped with the "state-affiliated media" designation on last week before Twitter faced public pressure to pull the label. Other media outlets with the label included Russian state-owned TASS, Russian state-controlled RT and China's official state news agency Xinhua.
NPR "receives less than 1 percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting," according to NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.
"NPR is instituting a ‘two-week grace period’ so the staff who run the Twitter accounts can revise their social-media strategies," Folkenflik added, noting that "individual NPR journalists and staffers can decide for themselves whether to continue using Twitter."
NPR President and CEO John Lansing released a statement condemning the initial designation.
"We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media,’ a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR," Lansing wrote. "NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy."
After receiving the label, NPR updated its Twitter bio to read, "NPR is an independent news organization committed to informing the public about the world around us. You can find us every other place you read the news."
White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre also defended NPR against Twitter's designation after a reporter asked her about it in the briefing room last week.
"Social media companies make their own independent decisions about content rules, so I won't comment on Twitter's rules, but what I will say, more broadly, I'll say there's no doubt of the independence of NPR's journalists," Jean-Pierre said.
"If you've ever been on the receiving end of their questions you know that they have their independence in journalism. NPR journalists work digitally to hold public officials accountable and inform the American people," she continued. "The hard-hitting independence nature of their coverage speaks for itself."
In recent years, NPR has often catered to liberals with content that regularly parrots Democratic talking points. NPR famously refused to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal leading up to the 2020 election, which underscored the organization’s liberal reputation.
In October 2020, NPR public editor Kelly McBride responded to a listener who asked why NPR had not reported on scandals surrounding Hunter Biden, including business connections he made overseas through his family name. That same month, the New York Post had dropped its reporting on Biden's laptop, which was then suppressed by Big Tech giants Facebook and Twitter, and dismissed as Russian disinformation by numerous outlets.
McBride claimed there are "many, many red flags in that New York Post investigation" and Intelligence officials have warned "that Russia has been working overtime" to keep the story in the news. The laptop has since been authenticated by numerous outlets.
Fox News’ Landon Mion and Nikolas Lanum contributed to this report.
