White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Wednesday there was “no doubt” about the independence of National Public Radio (NPR) after Twitter labeled it a “state-affiliated” media outlet.
Twitter switched the label on NPR’s account Tuesday, calling it “state-affiliated,” a designation similar to that placed on Russia Today’s account by the social media site.
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“Social media companies make their own independent decisions about content rules,” Jean-Pierre said when asked about the designation during Wednesday’s press briefing. “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.”
NPR radio stations and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) television stations receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), according to the CPB’s website. The CPB is a non-profit corporation created in 1967 that receives funds via Congressional appropriations and passes it on to NPR and PBS stations, the CPB website says.
The United States government is forbidden from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over the content or distribution of public telecommunications programs and services” under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
NPR President and CEO John Lansing criticized the social media site for applying the label Wednesday morning.
“NPR stands for freedom of speech & holding the powerful accountable,” Lansing tweeted. “A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”
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