Musk removes “government funded” posters after scrutiny has led some outlets to quit Twitter

Twitter removed the “government funded” labels from outlets like National Public Radio and PBS after the outlets and others protested that their accounts had been flagged and many decided to leave the platform.

The decision marks a 180-degree shift for CEO Elon Musk, who originally affixed NPR with the “state media” label previously reserved only for propaganda state news outlets like Russia’s RT and Sputnik, as well as China’s state news agency Xinhua.

That sparked enough outcry for Musk to back off and switch the UK and Canadian national broadcast labels to “government-funded,” more accurately describing the media outlets’ relationship with their governments, but still indicating bias or control that is non-existent.

NPR announced it would no longer use Twitter earlier this month, saying the platform did not provide enough value to post. A number of protest outlets followed, including PBS and CBC.

“NPR and our member stations are supported by the millions of listeners who rely on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” said John Lansing, CEO of NPR. “NPR stands for freedom of expression and accountability for the powerful. It is unacceptable for Twitter to describe us this way. A free, strong and vibrant press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

Now, Musk has turned around and removed funding posters from all accounts, including government propaganda outlets.

Journalist Robert Mackey criticized the move Tweet topic.

“Potemkin’s news channels are now free to pump out disinformation,” he said.

Neither NPR, PBS, nor CBC have resumed Twitter since the posters were removed, representing growing resentment from media organizations toward Musk.

CBC said Toronto Sun It will review its Twitter policies after the new change.

The controversy comes as Twitter has now removed all verified checkmarks except for accounts paying for Twitter’s opt-in feature. The move causes havoc on the site, which is once again infested with impersonations of celebrities, politicians, corporations, and government organizations.