Twitter has removed the “government-funded” labels from outlets like National Public Radio and PBS after the outlets and others protested that their accounts were flagged and many decided to leave the platform.
The decision marks a 180-degree turn for CEO Elon Musk, who originally plastered NPR with a “state-affiliated media” label previously only reserved for state propaganda news outlets like Russia’s RT and Sputnik, as well as China’s Xinhua.
That garnered enough protest for Musk to back down and switch the labels for NPR, PBS, and the British and Canadian national broadcasters to “government-funded,” more accurately describing the outlets’ relationship with their governments but still implying bias or control that is not present.
NPR announced it would no longer use Twitter earlier this month, saying that the platform does not provide enough value to the publication. A number of outlets, including PBS and CBC, followed in protest.
“NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” NPR CEO John Lansing said. “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.”
Now, Musk has turned around and eliminated funding labels from all accounts, including the state propaganda outlets.
Journalist Robert Mackey criticized the move in a Tweet thread.
“Potemkin news channels now free to inject disinformation,” he said.
None of NPR, PBS, or CBC has resumed tweeting since the labels have been removed, representing a growing discontent from media organizations toward Musk.
CBC told the Toronto Sun it would review its Twitter policies after the new change.
The controversy comes as Twitter has now removed all verified checkmarks except from accounts that pay for Twitter’s subscription feature. The move has caused chaos on the site, which is once again rife with impersonations of celebrities, politicians, businesses, and government organizations.