Elon Musk threatened to ‘reassign’ NPR’s Twitter handle: Report
Julia Johnson
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Twitter owner Elon Musk threatened to “reassign” National Public Radio’s Twitter handle if it does not resume posting on the site, according to the organization.
In a Tuesday article, NPR reported that Musk sent an “unprompted email” to the organization that day.
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“So is NPR going to start posting on Twitter again, or should we reassign @NPR to another company?” he allegedly wrote.
NPR noted that current Twitter rules define inactivity as not logging in to the platform. If accounts don’t log in every 30 days, they can be permanently removed.
The organization claimed that it asked Musk whether the rules defining inactivity would be changing. According to NPR, he didn’t address the question.
He did reportedly tell NPR, “Our policy is to recycle handles that are definitively dormant.”
“Same policy applies to all accounts. No special treatment for NPR,” he added.
Musk did not respond to a request for comment from the Washington Examiner.
Last month, Twitter labeled NPR’s account as “US State-Affiliated Media.”
NPR CEO John Lansing responded with a statement, saying, “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,” he added.
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Afterward, NPR reported that it would “no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds” due to the label.
However, later in the month, Musk opted to remove the labels from NPR, CBC, BBC, China’s Xinhu, and Russia’s RT accounts.