Commentary
On Tuesday, National Public Radio staff discovered that the media outlet’s Twitter page suddenly had the same designation of “state-affiliated media” as did outlets controlled by dictatorial regimes like China and Russia.
An NPR spokeswoman initially said she thought it was a mistake, as it contradicts Twitter’s own guidelines, which previously excepted outlets like NPR and BBC, the British Broadcasting Corporation, which receive state funding but maintain an independent editorial board.
On Tuesday evening, Twitter removed NPR from its exception list, but left the BBC.
NPR gets about 1 percent of its funding directly from the federal government, though about 10 percent comes indirectly through federal, state, and local government sources, according to Influence Watch. NPR also gets listener donations, corporate sponsorships, and grants….