Hilarity Ensues Between Biden WH, NPR After Elon Musk Labels Them 'US State-Affiliated Media'

I don’t think that it’s even arguable at this point that Twitter CEO Elon Musk loves getting under the skin of the establishment media.

We saw it over the weekend when Musk promptly removed the New York Times’ blue check after they declared they were not going to pay for it nor were they going to reimburse any of their “journalists” who had paid for one.

We’ve also seen it in how he had the Twitter press inquiry email account set to auto-respond to media requests with a poop emoji. Perhaps most memorably, however, was his temporary suspension of several “journalists” in December over them allegedly violating Twitter’s policy on revealing personal information without consent, and then him joining a Twitter Spaces journo ~~whine-a-thon~~ chat and letting them know “you’re not special.”

In the latest example of Musk rattling the media, NPR discovered Monday that he had slapped “US state-affiliated media” on their account, much like state-run media accounts for countries like China and Russia are:

Twitter labeled NPR state-affiliated (state-run) media 😂😂😂 pic.twitter.com/8EQ6Z0ZhQf

— Ben Kew 🏌️‍♂️ (@ben_kew) April 5, 2023

Naturally, the higher-ups at NPR were not amused. Here’s what NPR president/CEO John Lansing posted on Twitter in response:

“We were disturbed to see last night that Twitter has labeled NPR as ‘state-affiliated media,’ a description that, per Twitter’s own guidelines, does not apply to NPR. NPR and our Member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide. NPR stands for freedom of speech and holding the powerful accountable. It is unacceptable for Twitter to label us this way. A vigorous, vibrant free press is essential to the health of our democracy.”

“Ok NPR…. so if you aren’t ‘state-affiliated media’, you won’t mind if your government funding is cut off,” Christian Pushaw, a former spokeswoman for Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, zinged them in response to their statement.

And yet in a close to perfect example of life imitating art, Biden White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre rushed to the defense of the “hard-hitting” reporting at NPR when asked Wednesday about Musk’s move. I mean she clearly had a statement prepared to read prior to the question being asked and everything:

Jean-Pierre on NPR being labeled "US state-affiliated media" on Twitter: "There's no doubt of the independence of NPR's journalists." pic.twitter.com/MGBTUSJBff

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) April 5, 2023

NPR also didn’t help themselves when in the very article they wrote denying the claim, they cited … Jean-Pierre defending them:

NPR has an article complaining that Twitter now characterizes it as "US state-affiliated media." To prove that they are not, they cite the fact that WH Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre today "defended NPR's journalism."

Strange choice.https://t.co/g0RxjlR8op pic.twitter.com/W46ZFliqOX

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) April 5, 2023

So in a piece NPR published trying to prove their supposed journalistic independence, they included the Biden White House’s defense of them as some sort of proof. You simply could not make this stuff up if you tried.

Let us also not forget that this happened:

Why haven't you seen any stories from NPR about the NY Post's Hunter Biden story? Read more in this week's newsletter➡️ https://t.co/CJesPgmGvo pic.twitter.com/jAi7PnpbZf

— NPR Public Editor (@NPRpubliceditor) October 22, 2020

Yo, NPR. Don’t wanna get treated like a state-affiliated media outlet? Then maybe try harder at not acting like one. Just sayin’.