On Tuesday evening, Twitter labeled the account of National Public Radio NPR as US state-affiliated media, drawing fierce criticism from the news organization's leadership.
Other publications with the label include the Russian propaganda network RT and China's Xinhua News Agency.
The change to NPR's designation appears to be in violation of Twitter's original policy on how the social media platform determines which companies receive the label. State-affiliated media is defined as outlets where the state controls editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and or control over production and distribution.
Until a few hours ago, Twitter explicitly listed NPR with the BBC as exceptions to this categorization. According to screenshots posted by NPR reporter David Gura, the policy noted that while both organizations receive state funding, NPR derives less than 1% of its annual operating budget from government programs.
By Wednesday morning, the policy had been changed to remove the mention of NPR. The designation of the BBC's Twitter account remained the same, and the organization was still included as an exception in the policy.
The Twitter accounts of other publications that receive various degrees of state funding, such as the Flemish VRT NWS and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, have also been left untouched.
The millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide are supported by NPR and our member stations, according to a statement on Wednesday by Lansing. NPR stands for the freedom of speech to hold the powerful accountable. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy. The development is the second spat between the Elon Musk-owned platform and a major American news outlet in just a week. After the New York Times announced that it would not participate in Twitter's pay-to- play verification policy, Musk took the company's blue check away. Musk tweeted in response to a meme about the New York Times decision.
There was no response from Twitter to a request for comment. The Guardian received an automated message with a poop emoji.