Different isn’t always better.
Arguably, this is the case with one of Elon Musk’s recent Twitter developments. The official Twitter account for NPR(Opens in a new tab) (or NPR) controversially got the “US affiliated media” tag on its profile last week, which was quietly changed to “government funded media” over the weekend, according to Gizmodo.(Opens in a new tab). The original poster is usually accompanied by more visible sponsored pages.
Elon Musk appears to be at odds with Matt Taibbi over a Twitter-Substack dispute
NPR has not tweeted since the poster originally appeared.
Different, but kind of the same.
Credit: Screenshot: Twitter
The difference between the two is largely indicative. In fact, clicking on the label takes you to page(Opens in a new tab) Explain the meaning of the preceding designation. According to Twitter, this designation exists for “outlets in which the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or control over production and distribution.”
This definition is vague enough that it’s impossible to say from the outside looking in whether or not it’s 100% accurate as it pertains to NPR. Oddly enough, the new nomenclature is less extensive and therefore less precise. Direct government funding is only about one percent of the outlet’s annual budget, according to NPR itself(Opens in a new tab).
It’s a strange and evolving situation, as is everything else about Musk’s ownership of Twitter.