NPR’s digital content consumption has experienced a marginal downturn following its departure from the social media platform once known as Twitter, now referred to as X.
An internal communication reviewing audience statistics, shared with NPR employees in August and later procured by The Hill, revealed a modest dip in digital traffic, which leadership described as an “anticipated minor decrease” compared to the figures from its direct channels, like NPR.org.
Prior to parting ways with the platform on April 5, referrals from Twitter constituted less than 2% of the total audience of NPR.org. The primary sources of this traffic were its main news handles, @npr and @nprpolitics.
This internal memo first came into the public domain through a report by Nieman Lab, a journalism research center affiliated with Harvard University.
Subsequent to its exit from the platform, humorously dubbed “Twexit,” NPR noticed a 1% drop in its website’s total weekly users, a shift it links to its withdrawal from the social media platform.
The resolution to vacate the platform was announced in April when NPR decided to render its accounts inactive and cease posting its journalistic content on X. This decision was a response to the platform’s CEO, Elon Musk, categorizing NPR as media affiliated with the state.
Musk has faced extensive scrutiny from advocates in technology and media over alterations to the platform’s content moderation strategies and his stance on freedom of expression.
NPR declared in a public statement, “We refuse to disseminate our journalism through channels that contribute to misconceptions about our credibility and misconstrue the nature of our editorial autonomy.”
Moreover, this pivot in NPR’s digital strategy reflects broader changes within the news media landscape. Media outlets are navigating shifts in how news is consumed and exploring new strategies to engage audiences across diverse platforms.
