KY media outlet follows NPR in quitting Twitter after national radio labeled propaganda

NPR and Kentucky radio station WEKU will no longer use Twitter after the national news organization was labeled “state-affiliated media,” a term typically used for propaganda news, the news outlets announced this week.

NPR, and some of its affiliates, is the first major news organization to stop using Twitter to distribute content after the social media platform was bought by Elon Musk. Since Musk became the CEO, changes have been made to the site, including adding labels to some verified accounts. The labels are meant to provide “additional context about accounts that are controlled by certain official representatives of governments, state-affiliated media entities and individuals associated with those entities,” according to Twitter.

The “state-affiliated media” label given to NPR has typically been used for “propaganda outlets in Russia, China and other autocratic countries,” NPR said in its announcement. After being questioned by a NPR tech reporter, Twitter changed the label to “government-funded media,” which the news outlet said was also inaccurate because NPR receives less than 1% of its funding from government sources.

Mike Savage, director and general manager of WEKU, said the labels placed on the NPR account were incorrect and offensive, and another sign that Twitter has lost credibility since Musk’s purchase.

“As the station manager, I was concerned that this platform was showing a pattern of being inaccurate and unfair to viewers of the platform, and to our viewers who get our news from Twitter,” Savage said.

Savage, who is also a board member for NPR, said most of their audience listens over the radio or streams from their website, with a relatively small Twitter following. The station will continue to use Facebook, and will also move to Instagram, he said.

“This was not a business decision, this was a decision based on principle,” Savage said. “I believe Twitter has a major credibility problem as a platform, and because of that, it doesn’t matter how many people get their news on Twitter, I can’t put our content up on that site.”

WEKU will not return to Twitter even if changes are made to the site because “it’s not worth it for us to be associated with that social media platform,” Savage said.

“It was a difficult decision to leave Twitter, but we feel that we need to do this ... to support NPR and to make a statement,” Savage said.

Louisville Public Media, a non-profit news organization in Louisville that includes NPR-affiliate station WFPL, will continue to use Twitter for the time being, President and CEO Stephen George said in a statement.

“While LPM stands with NPR, we are also independent of them,” George said. “We serve a distinct local audience on Twitter, and we believe we should continue to do so while we are able.”

George said LPM may reevaluate its decision “in the event Twitter expands its disinformation campaign against public media or its leadership continues to undermine independent journalism.”

NPR’s CEO John Lansing said the move protects the national station’s credibility, and has no plans to return to using Twitter, NPR reported.

“At this point I have lost my faith in the decision-making at Twitter,” Lansing said. “I would need some time to understand whether Twitter can be trusted again.”

“Twitter’s mislabeling of NPR is an attack on independent journalism, the very principle that defines public media,” WEKU said in its announcement on Wednesday. “This attack also undermines the credibility of the platform.”