X Found to Be Obstructing Links to NPR, Cites Concerns Over Site’s Safety

X, owned by Elon Musk and previously known as Twitter, has recently flagged links to NPR’s website, particularly those about a conflict involving a Trump campaign employee and a worker at Arlington National Cemetery, as “unsafe.” Typically, this warning targets links that might carry malware or other dubious or spammy materials. In this scenario, however, the link in question leads to an NPR news piece, prompting debates on whether Musk’s platform X is attempting to hinder the distribution of this news report.

On Thursday, several X users started to observe that attempts to access the NPR article concerning the incident at Arlington Cemetery were met with a cautionary note: “Warning: this link may be unsafe”, followed by the link’s URL,

Instead of proceeding to the intended webpage, users are prompted to return to the previous page by hitting a large blue button. Those keen on reading the article must opt to ignore the warning by clicking on a smaller link provided below.

The reason why a warning was triggered by NPR’s site, especially for this specific story, remains unclear.

X warns its users as follows:

This link has been deemed by X or our partners to potentially be spammy or unsafe, in line with X’s URL Policy. This link could be categorized as any of the following:

• malicious links that may compromise personal information or damage electronic devices
• spammy links that could deceive individuals or disrupt their experience
• content that is violent or misleading, potentially leading to real-world harm
• certain kinds of content that directly contravene X’s Rules if posted

It seems NPR updated the URL to https://www.npr.org/2024/08/29/nx-s1-5092087/trump-arlington-cemetery-altercation-video, though it’s uncertain if this was in reaction to the blockade or if another factor inaccurately triggered the unsafe link warning.

Nevertheless, this situation further complicates X’s stance as a bastion for free speech, potentially pushing users towards alternatives like the open-source Mastodon, the emerging social network Bluesky, Meta’s Threads, among others.

NPR has not yet responded to a request for comment, and under Musk’s leadership, X seldom provides timely responses to media inquiries. However, X did eventually address NPR later this afternoon, acknowledging the link was mistakenly marked as a “false positive” and had since been corrected.

This incident is not the first clash between NPR and X. Last year, NPR opted to leave X, then under the name Twitter, after being tagged as “state-affiliated media” by Musk—a label previously reserved for outlets like those in Russia and China. NPR has not officially returned since.

More recently, Musk has been vocal on X in his support for Trump, even organizing a digital meeting with the former president on X Spaces earlier this month, which ultimately crashed due to overwhelming traffic.

Story updated, 8/29/24, 2 PM ET with X’s comment to NPR.