Elon Musk-NPR war continues as Twitter CEO calls for defunding outlet
The outlet said in a statement that Twitter is 'taking actions that undermine our credibility'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Twitter CEO and billionaire Elon Musk tweeted "defund NPR" on Wednesday after the outlet announced it would be dropping Twitter over "credibility" concerns as their account was labeled "state-affiliated media."
"Defund NPR," Musk tweeted on Wednesday in response to a screenshot of an email he posted from NPR's Bobby Allyn.
Allyn asked Musk what his reaction was to more than 50 NPR Twitter accounts leaving the platform, according to Musk's screenshot.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NPR's account was labeled "state-affiliated media" earlier this month before Twitter changed the outlet's label to "government-funded media."
Twitter owner Elon Musk has been vocal about being transparent when it comes to Twitter's past and present actions curating content on the platform. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
NPR LABELED 'STATE-AFFILIATED MEDIA' ON TWITTER, SAME AS RUSSIA'S RT AND CHINA'S XINHUA
"NPR’s organizational accounts will no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent," NPR said in a statement on Wednesday.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence," the statement continued. "We are turning away from Twitter but not from our audience and communities. There are plenty of ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music, and cultural content."
Musk also tweeted on Wednesday that NPR's website said "federal funding is essential to public radio."
He added, "what hypocrites!"
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}NPR Headquarters (SAUL LOEB/AFP via Getty Images)
NPR QUIET ON TWITTER FILES AFTER CALLING HUNTER BIDEN LAPTOP STORY A WASTE OF TIME
In another follow-up tweet, Musk asked, "what have you got against the truth @NPR?"
PBS has also stopped tweeting after it was given a "government-funded media" label.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"We did stop tweeting at that point as soon as we discovered it," a PBS spokesperson said in a statement. "We have no plans to resume tweeting."
The Twitter logo is seen on a phone in this photo illustration in Washington, DC, on July 10, 2019. (ALASTAIR PIKE/AFP via Getty Images)
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended NPR during a press conference earlier in April and said there was "no doubt" of NPR journalists' independence.
Jean-Pierre was asked, "Twitter labeled National Public Radio as a government influenced entity, putting NPR are in the same category as Russia Today or Chinese media. Do you have a comment?"
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"Yeah, so social media companies make their own independent decisions about content rules, so I won't comment on Twitter's rules, but what I will say, more broadly, I'll say there's no doubt of the independence of NPR's journalists," she said.
Fox News Digital's Brian Flood, Lindsay Kornick and Jeffrey Clark contributed to this report.