Elon Musk has dramatically changed Twitter in the first six months of his time as CEO at the tech firm.
The tech mogul has opened the code for all to see and exposed government agencies’ egregious actions.
Now this major change is teaching the world about a troubling problem in the global media landscape.
Prominent media organizations labeled “state-affiliated media” on Twitter
Elon Musk has once again opened the floodgates to leftists’ tears in an abrupt move to expose state-affiliated media on his platform.
Prominent Western media companies, NPR and BBC, were labeled as “state-affiliated media” companies, leading to public outcry.
Critics were enraged to see the two companies with a similar description to that of Russia Today and China’s Xinhua News Agency. Musk made the announcement stating that the companies met Twitter’s definition of “state-affiliated media” due to the governments’ “control over editorial content.”
He shared a screenshot of Twitter’s Help Center that reads “financial resources” and “direct or indirect political pressures” put on certain companies hurt their credibility, and they should not be seen as independent by Twitter’s users.
Seems accurate pic.twitter.com/nx5TmJY7GX
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 5, 2023
The move was applauded by liberty-minded individuals and condemned by those who push for partnerships between governments and corporations.
President of NPR says his company is “disturbed” by the label and what it alleges
Following the changes at Twitter, White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre took to her podium to address the issue.
She said that “there’s no doubt of the independence of NPR’s journalists” and that it was concerning to see the labels attached to the NPR account.
She claimed that “if you’ve ever been on the receiving end of their questions, you know that they have their independence in journalism.”
Pierre says she knows “NPR journalists work diligently to hold public officials accountable and inform the American people.”
The President of NPR, John Lansing, also stood up for his brand saying that leadership at the brand was “disturbed” by the label.
He added, “NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide.”
Shortly after NPR received the designation, their British counterpart BBC was also slapped with the description.
BBC journalist complains that when he contacted Twitter they sent back a “poo emoji”
The American broadcaster was just the first casualty on Twitter last week, and within days the British Broadcasting Network joined the ranks of the “state-affiliated media.”
This led to BBC journalist Jake Kanter calling out Elon Musk on the platform.
Hi @elonmusk.
The @BBC is not funded by the UK government.
It is funded by the British public through a system known as the licence fee.
The BBC's operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government pic.twitter.com/GvMpcSWIMe
— Jake Kanter (@Jake_Kanter) April 8, 2023
“Hi @elon Musk. The @BBC is not funded by the UK government,” he wrote, adding that the funding is done “by the British public through a system known as the license fee.”
He then went on to claim that “operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government.”
Kanter said that he has “contacted Twitter” to try to resolve the issue but only got a “poo emoji” in response.
It should be noted that Musk made the auto-reply to all media inquiries a poo emoji in March.
He announced the change in a viral tweet.
[email protected] now auto responds with 💩
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 19, 2023
Musk’s new “Community Notes” feature fact-checked Kanter’s responses to the change in real time, while leaving the CEO’s comments untouched.
He has repeatedly promised to expose the global government’s involvement in the press – now it seems he’s beginning to make good on that promise.
Before It’s Banned will keep you up-to-date on any developments to this ongoing story before it’s banned.
