Twitter has replaced the US state-affiliated media label on National Public Radio’s official Twitter account with “Government Funded Media”.

After NPR was widely criticized on social media, the change was made.

NPR Defenders, who were furious at comparisons with other state-run outlets like Russia Today or China’s Xinhua News Agency, noted last week that NPR does receive some funding from government but has complete editorial autonomy.

The Post reached out to NPR for comment.

Twitter CEO Elon Musk tweeted that NPR was meeting the site’s definitions of “state-affiliated” media. He said last Wednesday, “Outlets where the state exercises control on editorial content through financial resources and direct or indirect pressures and/or over production and distribution.”

John Lansing is NPR’s president/CEO. He released a statement that read: “We were disturbed last night that Twitter had labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media.’ This description, according to Twitter’s guidelines, doesn’t apply to NPR.”

Lansing stated that NPR and its Member stations are supported millions of times by listeners who rely on them for independent, fact-based journalism. “NPR stands up for freedom of speech, and holds the powerful accountable.”

David Gura, a NPR correspondent posted a side by side comparison of Twitter’s policies. It was apparently edited to remove NPR from being a media entity with “editorial independence.”

Gura tweeted, “Yesterday @elonmusk labeled NPR “state-affiliated media,” despite the fact that the company’s policy said the organization shouldn’t be called such as it has editorial independence.”

“Hours later Twitter removed NPR from the policy.”

“It is not acceptable for Twitter to label me this way.”

Twitter is now in trouble with the British Broadcasting Corporation. Musk had described it as “government-funded media.”

The BBC responded by saying that it had reached out to Twitter to resolve the issue “as quickly as possible”.

“The BBC is independent, as it has always been. The licence fee pays for our funding,” said the BBC in response to Twitter’s Monday designation.

Musk tweeted later that he considered the BBC to be one of the “least biased media outlets”.

He suggested, as well, that he attach a label to better describe the news service.

Musk sent an email to BBC stating that he aimed for maximum transparency, accuracy and consistency. It is probably logical to link ownership and the source of funds.

Musk stated, “I believe media organizations should be self aware and not falsely claim that there is no bias.”

“All organizations have biases, some more than others.” Note that I am a Twitter follower of BBC News, as I believe it to be among the least biased.

A $200 annual licensing fee is required of every British household. These funds can then be used to support BBC’s news service and its range of online and radio programming.

Musk made fighting media bias a major goal of his Twitter stewardship. In the months and weeks leading up to 2020’s presidential election, the previous management of The Post suppressed The Post’s reporting about Hunter Biden’s laptop.