It is the first media to leave the social network to protest once morest the new measures taken since the arrival of Elon Musk.
By Le Figaro with AFP
Posted update
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American public radio NPR became the first major media outlet on Wednesday to quit Twitter in protest at the network’s new policies, the day its boss, Elon Musk, acknowledged “errorssince his arrival.
Known and respected in the United States, where it claims 46 million listeners and readers per week on its stations, podcasts and websites, National Public Radio has announced that its “accounts (…) will no longer be active on Twitter“, accusing the network of taking measures that”undermine our credibility».
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In question ? Twitter’s decision last week to attach to NPR, which claims its editorial independence, the label of “media affiliated with the US state“, a label that puts it on the same level as Russian organs like Russia Today (RT) or Sputnik.
At first, Elon Musk, who willingly displays his contempt for the media, had assumed a change “just“. Then Twitter took a step back, adopting for NPR and for the British BBC, which complained regarding it, the label of “government-funded media».
Certification
Still false according to NPR, which assures that less than 1% of its operating budget comes from federal sources, its funds coming mainly from , sponsorship, and financial contributions from its member radios. Asked by AFP, a spokeswoman for NPR said that journalists and its member stations, “will be able to decide on their side if they want to stay on the platform“. The American radio station, whose main account on Twitter had 8.8 million subscribers on Wednesday, encouraged its listeners to follow it on other social media platforms.
This departure of Twitter, the first of a major media, comes once morest the backdrop of the establishment of a new controversial certification policy, the network granting from April 20 its famous blue mark to those who will pay to take advantage of it. . At the beginning of April, she withdrew this mark from the main account of the New York Times (55 million subscribers), in another gesture of defiance towards a respected media but considered too left-wing by some of the conservatives. .
” READ ALSO – Fronde once morest paid certification on Twitter
“Many Mistakes”
Requested by AFP, the press service of Twitter returned, as is now the habit, an emoticon in the shape of excrement. On Wednesday, in a surprise interview with the BBC, Elon Musk acknowledged “many errors” six months following buying the company for 44 billion dollars, while ensuring that the company was now “in the right direction».
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He notably conceded that the label of the BBC was going to be changed to that of “publicly funded” (and no more “governmental“). Since he bought the blue bird, Elon Musk has relaxed the moderation of content on the network, letting back many users banned because of hate messages or falling under misinformation. He also dismissed with a vengeance, reducing the group’s workforce from 7,500 to less than 2,000 employees.
According to the specialized firm Insider Intelligence, Twitter’s revenues are expected to plunge by almost a third in 2023, to less than 3 billion dollars, once morest 4.14 billion in 2022, due in particular to a drop in revenues. On the BBC, Elon Musk assured on the contrary that the company saw advertisers return and was “almost at break-even point“. By the way, he indicated that he had respected the results of a survey on the platform which demanded his departure, since now the new CEO of Twitter is his dog Floki.
