Ever since Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover, the platform’s future has become more uncertain. As Musk continues to add paywalls for services as simple as two-factor authentication, more and more companies are making the choice to leave the platform. Most recently, NPR has decided to suspend its Twitter use beginning on April 4 after its account was given a “US state-affiliated media” label. In response, NPR’s Twitter was given a new label on Saturday: government funded. A spokesperson for NPR released a statement to Deadline on Friday, stating, “We have paused tweeting from that account until we hear back from Twitter on this. We’ve continued tweeting from our other accounts that aren’t mislabeled.” They have also updated their bio to read: “NPR is an independent news organization committed to informing the public about the world around us. You can find us every other place you read the news.”
Late last year, Twitter almost suffered an almost premature death. After hundreds of key employees resigned on November 17, rumors began circulating that Twitter was in its final moments. As users began to mourn the loss of the site and tweeted out their final jokes, with some reigniting old feuds, the lack of support due to the loss of hundreds of employees behind the scenes worried users of their safety and privacy on the platform. As the future of Twitter continues to be a blur, various companies have announced some form of departure from the bird app. Playbill announced on November 11 that it would “no longer” be active on Twitter due to the growing number of fake accounts on the site, especially with the paid verification through Twitter Blue. More recently, CBS News stated that with the “uncertainty” of Twitter on November 18, it will be pausing its tweets. However, on November 20, the network said it would be returning to the platform. While it is unknown how long users have left on the platform (or when their blue check marks will go away), here are some companies that have made an early exit.
NPR
KCRW
CBS News… kind of
Playbill
Balenciaga
The fashion brand confirmed to Vogue on November 14 that it has deleted its account. The brand has not publicly stated its decision to leave, but one can assume it is related to the chaos in the site from the past month.
