PBS joins NPR in quitting Twitter

Published April 13th, 2023 - 07:43 GMT
PBS and NPR quit Twitter
National Public Radio. (Shutterstock)

ALBAWABA - The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) joined National Public Radio (NPR) in quitting Twitter.

The move came after the social media network's head Elon Musk labeled both of the organizations as government-backed media.

PBS spokesperson Jason Phelps confirmed in an email: "PBS stopped tweeting from our account when we learned of the change and we have no plans to resume at this time."

He maintained: "We are continuing to monitor the ever-changing situation closely."

In a mocking tweet, Tesla CEO said "Publicly funded PBS joins publicly funded NPR in leaving Twitter in a huff after being labeled 'Publicly Funded.'" 

NPR confirmed in a statement its decision to leave Twitter. NPR backed its decision by saying it is a "private, nonprofit company with editorial independence."

The network further added that it takes less than 1 percent of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

NPR CEO John Lansing revealed in an interview that he would never allow sharing any of the network's content that would risk its credibility.

Subscribe

Sign up to our newsletter for exclusive updates and enhanced content