Did the mass exodus from Twitter start now? Elon Musk’s reaction is infuriating

Elon Musk’s reaction was sharp. ZumaWire / MVPHOTOS

The American public broadcaster NPR announced that it will stop using a total of 52 of its official Twitter accounts. The decision makes NPR the first major news outlet to decide to end operations on the social media platform. Iltalehti reported about the incident earlier.

In addition to NPR, at least three other public radio channels operating in the United States have withdrawn from the service. Among other things, the Boston-based WBUR channel also announced that it would stop its activities on Twitter.

– We show solidarity with NPR, CEO of WBUR channel Margaret Low said in the channel’s announcement.

NPR reported withdrawal on their website. The background to NPR’s withdrawal is Twitter’s decision to designate several publicly funded media as “state-funded”. The company also uses the same label for offices spreading Russian and Chinese propaganda, for example.

– I have lost my faith in Twitter’s decision-making. Rebuilding trust takes time, NPR CEO John Lansing states.

Users don’t follow Musk

NPR’s decision to pull the plug on the service angered Twitter’s owner Elon Musk’s pointed towards the broadcasting company and called in his tweet to remove funding from NPR.

If you don’t see the embed, you can watch it from here.

It would seem that users of the service have the opposite opinion of the billionaire.

One of the service’s most popular topics is currently “Defund Musk”.

If you don’t see the embed, you can watch it from here.

This is not the first time that Twitter and its owners have been in the headlines for their conflicts with the media. The company has been criticized for, among other things, freezing the accounts of journalists and interfering with freedom of speech. Iltalehti has reported on the matter before.

It’s not clear if Musk’s reaction is up to something or if it’s an ill-advised emotional outburst.