NPR to Leave Twitter After “State-Affiliated” Label; YouTube Pulls Plug on Shopping Channel During Testing

by Hannah Dillon on 13th Apr 2023 in News

In today's ExchangeWire news digest: NPR announces it will leave Twitter after being labelled “state-affiliated media”; YouTube quietly abandons its shopping plaform; and Singaporean authorities turn to data from Singpass to help tackle and prevent fraud.

NPR leaves Twitter over "inaccurate" labelling

American non-profit media company National Public Radio (NPR) has said it will cease posting new content to Twitter after being labelled as “state-affiliated media”. NPR, which runs 52 feeds across the social media platform, said it was “officially de-emphasizing Twitter across the organization”, adding that Twitter had refused to remove the “inaccurate label” on numerous occasions.

YouTube shuts down shopping channel

YouTube is shutting down a shopping channel it had been quietly testing with influencers on the platform. The creator-exclusive program, which gave the option to tag brands in videos featuring their products, was being tested in the US, with plans to expand the feature to India, Brazil, Canada, and Australia.

Singapore tackling fraud with Singpass user data

Singaporean authorities are utilising Singapore Personal Access (Singpass) user data to prevent fraudulent attempts to use the app to set up bank accounts or phone lines. The Smart Nation and Digital Government Office (SNDGO) explained that data collected by the digital identity app will be used to investigate and prevent cyber-security breaches and criminal activity.