Assassinated Shinzo Abe labeled 'divisive arch-conservative' by NPR, Twitter calls to 'defund' public radio

Conservatives hit NPR with torrent of critical tweets after the outlet smeared former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe as a "divisive arch-conservative" in a tweet reporting his assassination.

Calls to "Defund NPR" reverberated on the social media platform, as Abe was just murdered and the taxpayer-funded outlet thought using such labels in a Twitter obituary would be appropriate.

On Friday morning in Japan, a lone gunman allegedly shot Abe twice from behind while he was making a campaign speech on a street in Nara, Japan. According to Japanese sources, "Abe was taken from the scene of the shooting unconscious and in cardiac arrest with no vital signs."

He was later pronounced dead. Abe was the longest serving prime minister in Japan’s history, was loved by conservatives and unpopular with liberals in the country. Upon hearing the news, former President Trump expressed sadness and remarked that Abe was a "great man."

FORMER JAPANESE PRIME MINISTER SHINZO ABE ASSASSINATED DURING CAMPAIGN SPEECH, HOSPITAL OFFICIALS CONFIRM

U.S. President Donald Trump looks on as Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe speaks while dining at Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Florida, on April 18, 2018. (REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque)

However, NPR’s report on Abe’s death smeared the former leader, painting him in a highly negative political light to its liberal-leaning audience. In their initial tweet on the story, it wrote, "Former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, a divisive arch-conservative and one of his nation’s most powerful and influential figures, has died after being shot during a campaign speech Friday, in western Japan, hospital officials said."

The tweet received major backlash from conservatives on the platform, causing the outlet to delete it and post a new version, which referred to Abe as an "ultranationalist" rather than "divisive arch-conservative."

NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham provided the subtext for the tweet, writing, "NPR: He had it coming."

"Defund the radical NPR. Defend liberty," tweeted former U.S. Ambassador to Denmark, Carla Sands.

Legal expert and author Ilya Shapiro asked, "Why am I paying for this?" – referring to the fact that NPR is taxpayer-funded.

NPR receives tax dollars by taking earnings from grants being paid to its member radio stations by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 2021, CPB provided $70 million in grants to these member stations.

Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, communications advisor Steve Guest tweeted, "I see there are no standards at NPR."

Conservative radio host Mike Opelka argued for the defunding of NPR, tweeting, "This seems like a horrible use of our tax dollars… Funding opinion disguised as journalism. Let’s not forget NPR also canceled the reading of the declaration of independence on July 4."

The account for conservative activist group ForAmerica wrote, "This is disgusting. Defund NPR."

NPR slammed for "disgusting" tweet about murder of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.

SHINZO ABE DEAD: JAPAN'S LONGEST-SERVING PRIME MINISTER WAS CONSERVATIVE KINGMAKER WHO STRENGTHENED US TIES

Conservative commentator Ian Miles Cheong tweeted that NPR amended its initial tweet, changing "divisive arch-conservative" to "ultranationalist." He stated, "Ultranationalist is the new word of the day. (NPR deleted the tweet calling him divisive)"

"We taxpayers fund this propaganda. Time to defund NPR & PBS," tweeted former Trump campaign advisor Steve Cortes. 

Conservative author Erielle Davidson wrote, "NPR referring to Japan’s most popular PM, who won his elections by large margins, as ‘divisive’ indicates the inability of media outlets to genuinely report any longer. Everything is a mural for their projection. So pathetic and so sad."

Author Jim Hanson mocked NPR’s tweet with a reference to the infamous Washington Post headline characterizing radical Islamic terrorist Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi being an "austere religious scholar."

Hanson wrote, "’divisive arch-conservative’. I guess the only way to get respect fro[m] the Left Is to be An ‘austere religious scholar.’"

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In a follow-up, he wrote, "NPR deleted their tasteless biased tweet calling PM Abe a ‘divisive arch-conservative.’ Still worth defunding them. They are a Leftist propaganda outlet."

Washington Examiner reporter Jerry Dunleavy commented on NPR’s tweet after the outlet amended it, writing, "NPR says Shinzo Abe wasn’t just a nationalist, but that he was an ultranationalist, a word with decidedly negative connotations."

Washington Times columnist Tim Young responded to the updated tweet, asking, "Why not just say you hate the guy?"

Fox News Digital reached out to NPR for comment, though they've yet to respond. 

A man believed to be a suspect in the shooting of former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is held by police officers at Yamato Saidaiji Station in Nara, Nara Prefecture on July 8, 2022, in this photo taken by the Yomiuri Shimbun. The Yomiuri Shimbun/via REUTERS