CNN aired a segment on Thursday bemoaning Twitter for labeling National Public Radio as "state-affiliated media" due to its liberal bias being partially funded by the U.S. government. The panel was worried that with the accurate labeling of NPR, now people will not be able to trust Twitter during serious situations.
Host Don Lemon asked CNN Media Analyst Sara Fischer if owner Elon Musk is alienating users who don't agree with how he is running Twitter.
"I think the biggest risk is if you go after certain media outlets without a set of parameters, you can lose a lot of trust in the platform, especially because people leverage Twitter in emergency situations," Fischer said. "If Elon Musk is going to sort of cherry pick which outlets get amplified, which ones have labels, he risks people not being able to trust Twitter at critical times and that's where Twitter gets its most engagement."
Cohost Kaitlan Collins then read Twitter's definition of "state-affiliated media," which is:
State-affiliated media is defined as outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution. Accounts belonging to state-affiliated media entities, their editors-in-chief, and/or their prominent staff may be labeled.
"That's obviously not NPR. NPR does great journalism. They cover the White House, they cover the Hill, they cover everything, they do great work," Collins said.
Fischer noted media outlets are still paying for ads on Twitter because it is a big platform to reach new audiences.