Twitter criticized after labeling NPR as ‘state-affiliated media’

NPR president and CEO John Lansing fired back at Twitter on Wednesday morning after the social media platform put a label on the news organization’s profile calling it “state-affiliated media.”

NewsNation partner The Hill reports this designation is one Twitter uses for state news agencies such as Russia’s TASS and China’s Xinhua.

“NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” Lansing wrote in a statement. “NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

Twitter’s guidelines state that “state-affiliated media” is defined as “outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”