As PJ Media’s Chris Queen recently reported, Elon Musk has designated NPR “state-funded media.”
After some hand-wringing, Twitter revised its label to read “government-funded media” — arguably an irrelevant distinction, although the state and the government are technically distinct concepts.
That wasn’t enough, however, to keep NPR from rage-quitting Twitter.
Related: The NPR Emperor Has No Clothes
Musk also recently slapped a version of the label on the BBC, British state media.
Avi Yemeni of Rebel News put the following poll up on Twitter to gauge interest in also going after Aussie and Kiwi state media, and the reaction was resounding (although admittedly, it was probably mostly the right who saw the poll and voted in it):
Do you think @elonmusk should hit @abcnews, @SBSNews, @nzherald, @NZStuff and all the other Aussie and NZ outlets with the same “Government Funded” label he's given @NPR?
Only 1-2% of NPR’s funding is from the federal government.
My list gets a lot more taxpayer dollars.
— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) April 9, 2023
Unfortunately, it seems that Elon has caved to pressure from the BBC and its many patrons in the corporate state, per reporting from The Guardian:
Elon Musk, Twitter’s billionaire owner, has said the social media platform will change the BBC’s label of “government-funded media” after the broadcaster objected…
The BBC contacted the company last week after the description was added to its main Twitter account. Musk said he had the “utmost respect” for the organisation, adding: “We want [the tag] as truthful and accurate as possible. We’re adjusting the label to [the BBC being] publicly funded. We’ll try to be accurate.”
A large portion of the right embraced Musk when he purchased Twitter as a sort of free-speech hero, but moves like this show how indecisive and flighty he actually is. He seems to base his decisions purely on his emotional state at any given moment, not on sincerely held principles.
At any rate, the label “publicly funded media” remains on the BBC’s Twitter profile as of April 13, 2023.
These outlets should all be designated “state-funded media,” because that’s what they are.
In the West, we have been conditioned to subscribe to the idea that Western state-funded media does not suffer from the same institutional bias that other state-funded media does.
Russia Today is nothing but rank Kremlin propaganda to be dismissed out of hand, yet NPR is a saintly, sacred, independent media outlet that only happens to take state funds, the mantra goes.
Diversity hire Karine Jean-Pierre‘s handlers have been diligent in repeating the independent talking point in her notecards.
Karine is a good girl, and she surely got a cookie backstage or whatever they feed her when she reads her lines right. However, it’s unclear how well the narrative will stick in the minds of Twitter users who now enjoy the benefit of the “state-funded” disclaimer on these organizations’ Twitter profiles.
As others have pointed out, nothing screams “independent media” like sending the chief White House propagandist out to vociferously defend them.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member