'Defund NPR' trends after outlet tweets disclaimer on Declaration of Independence



Conservatives on Twitter skewered National Public Radio over the weekend after the left-leaning news outlet added a notable disclaimer to its annual broadcast reading of the Declaration of Independence.

What happened?

In a Twitter thread posted on Independence Day, the taxpayer-funded outlet noted that the Declaration, one of America's prized founding documents, is filled with "flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisies."

"245 years ago today, leaders representing 13 British colonies signed a document to declare independence. It says 'that all men are created equal' — but women, enslaved people, Indigenous people and many others were not held as equal at the time," NPR said in a tweet. "The document also includes a racist slur against Indigenous Americans."

It went on to add: "In this thread of the Declaration of Independence, you can see a document with flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisies. It also laid the foundation for this country's collective aspirations — the hopes for what America could be."

🧵 245 years ago today, leaders representing 13 British colonies signed a document to declare independence.It says… https://t.co/sWrnliWK2M

— NPR (@NPR) 1625411033.0

In this thread of the Declaration of Independence, you can see a document with flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisi… https://t.co/Bpf6joXaVw

— NPR (@NPR) 1625411035.0

The same statement was read aloud during NPR's reading of the document along with some further context, provided by a staffer.

"After last summer's protests and our country attempting to confront its history, we want and need to be honest about the words in this document," the staffer said.

What happened next?

In response to the disclaimer, several critics — discontented by the outlet's decision to criticize America on a day set aside for its celebration — called on government officials to "defund NPR."

Florida Republican congressional candidate Lavern Spicer quipped, "Today is a great day for America to declare its independence from NPR which is currently attacking our Constitution."

Today is a great day for America to declare its independence from NPR which is currently attacking our Constitution… https://t.co/lpeE3bHq1V

— Lavern Spicer (@lavern_spicer) 1625483718.0

"Why in the hell are American taxpayers funding this nonsense? #DefundNPR," California Republican congressional candidate Buzz Patterson added.

Why in the hell are American taxpayers funding this nonsense?#DefundNPR https://t.co/x2eXXyniFh

— Buzz Patterson (@BuzzPatterson) 1625448638.0

Sebastian Gorka stated simply: "#DefundNPR Already," as did Kurt Schlichter.

#DefundNPR Already.

— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) 1625502659.0

Defund NPR https://t.co/POqAmzQLYy

— Kurt Schlichter (@KurtSchlichter) 1625417325.0

Inez Stepman blasted "what is essentially a trigger warning at the start [of the document] to let people know that they're about to read something offensive."

"Maybe we should add a similar rider to our tax dollars," she suggested.

The Declaration of Independence requires what is essentially a trigger warning at the start to let people know that… https://t.co/yyYVi5l3pL

— Inez Stepman ⚪️🔴⚪️ (@InezFeltscher) 1625489204.0

Political advisor Blair Brandt tweeted: "Defund NPR - an Anti American outlet funded by American taxes."

Defund NPR - an Anti American outlet funded by American taxes.

— Blair Brandt (@BlairBrandt) 1625428072.0

Spectator contributor Stephen L. Miller responded to the controversy by re-upping a column he wrote last summer in which he questioned whether taxpayers should "continue to fund these enterprises, when they clearly focus less on educating the public, and more on pushing commentary and opinion, and now, even libel?"

Yeah some of us wrote that a few months ago https://t.co/gqwtHR1eac https://t.co/QRVwPzuAUF

— Stephen L. Miller (@redsteeze) 1625454798.0

Rep. Paul Gosar calls for NPR to be defunded over its blackout on Hunter Biden allegations



Rep. Paul Gosar (R-Ariz.) is calling for National Public Radio to be defunded by the federal government. The movement to defund NPR comes after the media organization announced that it would not cover the allegations against Joe Biden's son, Hunter Biden.

On Thursday, NPR managing editor Terence Samuels declared that covering the news story about emails from Hunter Biden's laptop that was left at a computer repair store is a "waste" of time, and discredited the allegations a "distraction."

"We don't want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don't want to waste the listeners' and readers' time on stories that are just pure distractions," Samuels stated. "And quite frankly, that's where we ended up, this was ... a politically driven event and we decided to treat it that way."

Why haven't you seen any stories from NPR about the NY Post's Hunter Biden story? Read more in this week's newslett… https://t.co/qmNWngA9cJ
— NPR Public Editor (@NPR Public Editor)1603376100.0

NPR has dismissed the Hunter Biden accusations despite Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe declaring the Hunter Biden's laptop is "not part of some Russian disinformation campaign."

NPR also enacted a blackout on the Hunter Biden story despite an alleged business partner of Hunter Biden, Tony Bobulinski, confirming the emails are "genuine" and coming forward with multiple phones that he claims have text messages showing dealings with a Chinese energy corporation and the Democratic presidential nominee's son. Bobulinksi alleges that Joe Biden is involved in the deal. He also offered to speak with the FBI and senators regarding alleged transactions with the Shanghai-based company.

NPR refuses to cover the story despite the fact that Hunter Biden has not denied dropping off his laptop at the computer repair shop back in 2019.

Rep. Gosar wants to defund National Public Radio, who called the outlet's blackout "appalling." He added that he has "already directed my staff to start working" on legislation to defund NPR, which is a federally-funded media organization.

It’s time to defund @NPR. This is appalling. #DefundNPR https://t.co/wFbY5lGGTG
— Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS (@Rep. Paul Gosar, DDS)1603379590.0

Gosar, a staunch ally of President Donald Trump, believes the accusations against the Biden family. He quote-tweeted a post that read: "Joe Biden uses public office to enrich himself and his family. President Trump uses public office to bring jobs and prosperity to American families!" Adding, "This on repeat every day until the election."

Former Trump administration Ambassador to Germany and Director of National Intelligence Richard Grenell was also enraged by NPR's blackout on the Hunter Biden story, calling it "activism."

NPR will ignore Hunter Biden emails. This is activism. Call your local NPR affiliate and complain. https://t.co/XNolW0Ug0c
— Richard Grenell (@Richard Grenell)1603378598.0

The NPR website states:

Federal funding is essential to public radio's service to the American public. Its continuation is critical for both stations and program producers, including NPR.

Public radio stations receive annual grants directly from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) that make up an important part of a diverse revenue mix that includes listener support, corporate sponsorship and grants. Stations, in turn, draw on this mix of public and privately sourced revenue to pay NPR and other public radio producers for their programming.

These station programming fees comprise a significant portion of NPR's largest source of revenue. The loss of federal funding would undermine the stations' ability to pay NPR for programming, thereby weakening the institution.

Elimination of federal funding would result in fewer programs, less journalism—especially local journalism—and eventually the loss of public radio stations, particularly in rural and economically distressed communities.

Social media giants Facebook and Twitter censored the Hunter Biden story soon after the New York Post published the report that is potentially damaging to the Biden campaign. Twitter suspended the official account for the New York Post on Oct. 14, and the account is still inactive.

NPR Says They Won’t Cover The Hunter Biden Story Because ‘Russia’ And ‘It Doesn’t Amount To Much’

NPR said that even if the New York Post's Hunter Biden story is true, it remains "a far cry from investigative journalism."