Twitter puts the "state media" tag on the account of the prestigious American radio station, NPR

Twitter angered the prestigious American broadcaster "NPR" after the social networking platform owned by billionaire Elon Musk put a "state media" tag on its account.

The rating puts NPR (National Public Radio), which has more than eight million followers in Washington, on par with Chinese and Russian state media.

The move comes after Twitter stripped the New York Times account of the verification mark, in Musk's first update on media-related policies.

Conservatives view the two media organizations as bastions of the left, a position Musk has often expressed in his tweets.
According to the policy of Twitter, which is a major communication tool for officials, celebrities and the media, this decision will limit the access of radio and newspaper tweets to users.

NPR CEO John Lansing said, "It was disturbing to see last night that Twitter designated us as a state media, a designation under Twitter's own guidelines that does not apply to NPR."

The broadcaster told AFP that less than 1 percent of its funding comes from federal sources.

Lansing confirmed, "+NPR+ supports freedom of expression and accountability for the powerful. It is not acceptable for Twitter to tag us in this way."

Ben America, which defends freedom of expression, described the move as dangerous.

"Twitter's unilateral labeling of +NBR+ as a state media, on a par with Russian RT, is a dangerous step that could undermine public confidence in reliable news sources," said Liz Woolery, director of digital policy at the organisation.