New NPR CEO Has History of Censoring Content on Behalf of the Government
National Public Radio (NPR) continues to face scrutiny following the appointment of Katherine Maher as its new CEO, with concerns raised over her past comments regarding censorship.
Maher, formerly the CEO of Wikipedia between March 2016 and April 2021, admitted to censoring information at the government’s request during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. This revelation surfaced in a video shared by Christopher Rufo, where Maher acknowledged taking “a very active approach to disinformation” that was based on “conversations with the government.” This included suppressing information relating both to the pandemic and the 2020 election.
Towards the end of her tenure at Wikipedia, the company’s co-founder, Larry Sanger, felt prompted to criticize the website for having an increasing left-wing bias.
“Wikipedia’s ideological and religious bias is real and troubling, particularly in a resource that continues to be treated by many as an unbiased reference work,” Sanger said.
The appointment of Maher as NPR’s CEO has sparked concern, particularly due to the organization’s reliance on taxpayer-funded grants from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Maher’s ideological stance and past actions have raised questions about NPR’s commitment to impartiality and journalistic integrity.
In a TED Talk lecture last year, Maher claimed that she does not believe in objective truth.
“Our reverence for the truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done,” she claimed.
Furthermore, in 2020, Maher justified looting in response to the death of George Floyd.
“I mean, sure, looting is counterproductive. But it’s hard to be mad about protests not prioritizing the private property of a system of oppression founded on treating people’s ancestors as private property,” she posted on X.
NPR has continued to face resentment from many Americans who believe the organization is essentially a propaganda wing for the government. Uri Berliner, a former veteran employee, recently penned an op-ed accusing the network of straying from its journalistic principles and losing the trust of the American public.
In 2023, X owner Elon Musk mocked the outlet by putting a “U.S. state-affiliated media” label on the official account of NPR.
