NPR chief fires back at Twitter over ‘state-affiliated media’ label

NPR president and CEO John Lansing fired back at Twitter on Wednesday after the social media platform labeled the news organization as “state-affiliated media.”

“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 said in a statement posted to Twitter.

Twitter’s guidelines define state-affiliated media as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”

For instance, Russian state-owned news agency TASS is labeled as “Russia state-affiliated media,” and China’s official state news agency Xinhua is labeled as “China state-affiliated media.”

However, Twitter also notes that “state-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK” are not considered state-affiliated media. 

The social media company does not recommend or amplify accounts with the state-affiliated media label to users, according to its guidelines.

“NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” Lansing added on Wednesday. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

When questioned about the label during the daily press briefing, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said she wouldn’t comment on “Twitter’s rules,” but came to NPR’s aid.

“Social media companies make their own independent decisions about content rules, so I won’t comment on Twitter’s rules,” Jean-Pierre, adding “more broadly, I’ll say there’s no doubt of the independence of NPR’s journalists.”

“NPR journalists work diligently to hold public officials accountable and inform the American people,” she continued. “The hard-hitting independence nature of their coverage speaks for itself. And so, I’ll leave it there.”

Steff Danielle Thomas contributed to this report.