US public radio NPR on Wednesday became the first major media outlet to quit Twitter in protest at the network's new policies, the day its boss, Elon Musk, admitted to "mistakes" since his
arrival
.
Known and respected in the United States, where it claims 46 million listeners and readers per week on its stations, podcasts and websites, National Public Radio has announced that its "accounts (...) will no longer be active
on Twitter
”, accusing the network of taking measures which “
undermine our credibility
”.
In question ?
Twitter's decision last week to label NPR, which claims its editorial independence, as "
media affiliated with the US state
," a label that puts it on the same level as Russian outlets like Russia Today (RT) or Sputnik.
At first, Elon Musk, who willingly displays his contempt for the media, had assumed a "
just
" change.
Then Twitter took a step back, adopting the label of “ government-funded media
”
for NPR and the British BBC, which complained about it .
Certificate
Still false according to NPR, which assures that less than 1% of its operating budget comes from federal sources, its funds coming mainly from advertising, sponsorship, and financial contributions from its member radios.
Asked by AFP, a spokeswoman for NPR said that journalists and its member stations, "
will be able to decide on their side if they want to stay on the platform
".
The American radio station, whose main account on Twitter had 8.8 million subscribers on Wednesday, encouraged its listeners to follow it on other social media platforms.
This departure of Twitter, the first of a major media, comes against the backdrop of the establishment of a new controversial certification policy, the network granting from April 20 its famous blue mark to those who will pay to take advantage of it. .
At the beginning of April, she withdrew this mark from the main account of the New York Times (55 million subscribers), in another gesture of defiance towards a respected media but considered too left-wing by some of the conservatives. .
Read alsoFronde against paid certification on Twitter
"Many Mistakes"
Requested by AFP, the press service of Twitter returned, as is now the habit, an emoticon in the shape of excrement.
In a surprise interview with the BBC on Wednesday, Elon Musk admitted "
many mistakes
" six months after buying the company for $44 billion, while assuring that the company was now "
in the right direction
".
He notably conceded that the label of the BBC was going to be changed to that of “
financed by public funds
” (and no longer “
governmental
”).
Since he bought the blue bird, Elon Musk has relaxed the moderation of content on the network, letting back many users banned because of hate messages or falling under misinformation.
He also dismissed with a vengeance, reducing the group's workforce from 7,500 to less than 2,000 employees.
According to the specialized firm Insider Intelligence, Twitter's revenues are expected to plunge by almost a third in 2023, to less than 3 billion dollars, against 4.14 billion in 2022, due in particular to a drop in advertising revenues.
On the BBC, Elon Musk assured on the contrary that the company saw advertisers return and was “
roughly at the break-even point
”.
By the way, he indicated that he had respected the results of a survey on the platform which demanded his departure, since now the new CEO of Twitter is his dog Floki.