US public radio network NPR leaves Twitter after 'government-funded media' label
'We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility,' says NPR
WASHINGTON
National Public Radio (NPR) said Wednesday it is leaving Twitter one week after the company labeled the radio station’s main account as "government-funded media."
"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," the radio network 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," it said.
NPR's primary Twitter account had been inactive since April 4. But it shared a sequence of tweets Wednesday providing alternative sources for accessing its journalism.
NPR said it will no longer post new content to its 52 official Twitter feeds.
The "state-affiliated media" label is usually applied to media outlets that are under the control or significantly influenced by authoritarian governments.
But Twitter later revised the label to "government-funded media" and bestowed the same designation on another public news organization, the BBC.
