Elon Musk on Tuesday renewed calls to defund NPR after a controversial video of its chief executive questioning the importance of truth resurfaced online.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher’s footage from an August 2021 Ted Talk resurfaced Tuesday on X, sparking new debate over the alleged bias of the taxpayer-funded broadcaster, which has come under scrutiny in recent months.
In the 10-second clip, Maher questioned the role truth plays in the industry as then-CEO of Wikimedia. She took over as CEO of NPR in March of this year.
“I think our reverence for truth may have become a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and doing important things,” Maher told the crowd.
Musk shared the clip with his 204.3 million followers with the caption: “Should tax dollars really pay for an organization run by people who think the truth is a ‘distraction’?”
His dig is the latest in a months-long dispute with the broadcaster, with Maher at the helm.
In April, the Tesla and SpaceX CEO posted a screenshot of a press inquiry asking Musk what his reaction was to more than 50 NPR accounts leaving X, to which he replied “defund NPR.”
Days ago, NPR announced it would drop X, then Twitter, over “credibility” concerns after their account was labeled “state-affiliated media.” Twitter later changed the newspaper’s label to “government-funded media”.
“We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have shown an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence,” NPR said in a statement at the time. “We’re leaving Twitter, but not our audience and communities. There are many ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music and cultural content.”
Musk responded by asking in a separate tweet, “what do you have against the truth @NPR?”
Musk later reportedly threatened to transfer the handle and username of the “@NPR” account to another account if it remained inactive on the platform.
Allegations of ideological bias in NPR’s newsroom were outlined in a scathing essay published in April by senior editor Uri Berliner, who has since left the organization.
Berliner detailed his concerns of bias against his employer, revealing that NPR’s Washington, DC newsroom carried zero Republicans, compared to 87 Democrats.
His essay prompted congressional Republicans to pressure both NPR and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to demand action to ensure the broadcaster’s integrity and address Berliner’s allegations.
It also led to the discussion of bills in both houses of Congress to cut the organization’s funding.
Fox News’ Hannah Panreck contributed to this report.
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