NPR CEO Condemns Twitter Label

Twitter labeling NPR a “US state-affiliated media” Tuesday is “unacceptable,” said NPR CEO John Lansing in a release Wednesday. That’s a description that doesn’t apply to NPR under Twitter’s own guidelines, Lansing said. Twitter’s guidelines list state-affiliated media as not having editorial independence. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way,” Lansing said. “ A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.” NPR’s Twitter account still bore the label Wednesday. Twitter didn’t comment.