White House Slaps Musk’s Twitter For Labeling NPR ‘State-Affiliated’

Topline

The world’s second-wealthiest man Elon Musk continues to stir up drama as his tenure as Twitter’s owner/CEO enters its sixth month, controversially giving NPR the same labeling as Chinese and Russian propaganda machines on his social media site this week, sparking backlash from the outlet and the Biden Administration.

NPR headquarters in the nation’s capital.

Getty Images

Key Facts

Twitter labeled NPR as “US state-affiliated media” late Tuesday, earning it the same label as state-controlled outlets like China’s People Daily and Russia’s TASS, an apparently targeted change that NPR’s CEO John Lansing called “unacceptable” and “disturb[ing]” in a Wednesday statement.

In a Wednesday afternoon press conference, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said “there is no doubt of the independence of NPR,” clarifying Twitter is free to label NPR as it desires as a private company.

Musk seemed to revel in the attention, responding to a tweet about NPR getting “rekt” by him with a screenshot of Twitter’s newly altered policy for labeling state-affiliated news organizations, following similar gloats about the New York Times losing its verification on Twitter over the weekend.

NPR, which says it gets less than 1% of its annual budget from federal funding, was previously explicitly exempted from Twitter’s policy for state-run media labels before abruptly losing its privilege Tuesday.

Entirely editorially independent from the U.S. government, NPR is grappling with financial struggles as corporate sponsorships dry up and advertising revenue dwindles.

Tangent

Meanwhile, Musk has been bleeding billions of dollars as shares of Tesla, which he also leads as CEO, slid 10% this week. But the Twitter-related distractions from Musk that weighed on Tesla’s stock last year are not the root cause of the recent slide, Wedbush analyst Dan Ives wrote in an email to Forbes, admitting it’s a “noisy” situation that “continues to create a divide between Musk and his critics.” Ives continued: “Tesla investors have now become immune to the Musk Twitter drama” and it’s little more than “background noise on the stock.” Rather, primarily dragging down Tesla’s share price this week were increased investor concerns about what its latest quarterly vehicle delivery numbers disclosed Sunday and how it may weigh on bottom lines at the company. Though Tesla’s vehicle deliveries beat expectations, an increase in inventory will lead Musk’s company to further slash prices and thus “undermine profitability,” Bernstein analyst Toni Sacconaghi wrote in a Sunday note to clients.

Surprising Fact

Musk’s stake in Twitter accounts for just 5% of his net worth, per our estimates, while his Tesla shares make up 58% of his fortune.

Topline

Key Facts

Tangent

Surprising Fact

Further Reading