Topline
Twitter CEO Elon Musk reportedly sent an email to an NPR reporter with a warning that the social media platform may reassign the @NPR handle to “another company” unless it resumes tweeting—something the public broadcaster stopped doing last month after being labeled “state-affiliated media” by Twitter.
The headquarters for National Public Radio, or NPR, are seen in Washington, DC.
Key Facts
According to NPR, Musk sent an “unprompted” email to its reporter Bobby Allyn on Tuesday, asking: “So is NPR going to start posting on Twitter again, or should we reassign @NPR to another company?”
As of early Wednesday morning, Twitter’s terms of service deem an account to be inactive if it hasn’t been logged into for 30 days—sending out tweets is not mentioned as a requirement—and a “prolonged inactivity” can lead to an account’s removal.
Musk, however, refused to clarify if this rule had been changed and simply said Twitter’s policy is to “recycle handles that are definitively dormant,” and NPR will receive “no special treatment,” the report added.
Pointing out that NPR is not tagged as “government-funded” anymore—the issue that initially prompted the broadcaster to stop using Twitter—Musk asked in the message, “so what’s the beef?”
Forbes has reached out to NPR for comment.
Despite publicly attacking NPR for its stance several times last month, Musk has not tweeted about this reported email exchange as of early Wednesday.
Key Background
Last month, NPR announced it will stop using Twitter after its handle was brandished with a “government-funded” label—similar to the one used for state-controlled foreign outlets including Xinhua, Global Times and RT. In a statement, NPR CEO John Lansing said that NPR stood for “freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable,” adding that it was “unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way.” The company has mentioned that it receives less than 1% of its annual budget from the federal government. Public TV broadcaster PBS later joined NPR in leaving Twitter after also receiving the “government-funded” label. Later in April, Twitter moved to purge verified checkmarks from so-called “legacy verified” accounts that do not pay for the monthly Blue subscription service. As part of this blue-tick purge, Twitter also removed “government-funded” from all media accounts that previously had it, including NPR.
Further Reading
Elon Musk threatens to re-assign @NPR on Twitter to ‘another company’ (NPR)
Twitter Removes ‘Government-Funded Media’ Labels From News Outlets Amid Controversy—Including NPR, CBC, PBS (Forbes)
Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/siladityaray/2023/05/03/elon-musk-reportedly-warns-npr-its-twitter-handle-will-get-reassigned-unless-they-start-tweeting-again/