NPR Tweets Declaration Of Independence, Triggers Outrage

This undated image released by Britain's National Archives Thursday, July 2, 2009, shows a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which has been discovered at the National Archives in Kew, England. T... This undated image released by Britain's National Archives Thursday, July 2, 2009, shows a copy of the United States Declaration of Independence, which has been discovered at the National Archives in Kew, England. The rare copy of the American Declaration of Independence has been found hidden in a file at the British National Archives. The Archives say that the print, known as the Dunlap print after the printer who commissioned it, is the 26th copy of the document to be found. The last Dunlap print found was sold at an auction for $8.14 million in 2000. Archives spokeswoman Katrina McClintock said Thursday that the file was found by a researcher looking through late 18th Century files for something unrelated. McClintock said it was discovered months ago but not revealed to the public until it could be extracted and catalogued. (AP Photo/National Archives) ** EDITORIAL USE ONLY ** MORE LESS

July 5, 2017 12:29 p.m.

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Continuing its 29-year tradition of broadcasting an annual reading of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, National Public Radio accompanied that broadcast with line-by-line tweets of the founding fathers’ statement Tuesday.

But some Twitter users interpreted the tweets as an attack on President Donald Trump, calling NPR “propaganda” and said the radio station was “calling for a revolution.”

it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,

— NPR (@NPR) July 4, 2017

When you're triggered by the Declaration of Independence bc you want so badly to submit to King Donald the Doll-Handed…. pic.twitter.com/aEyLEu24Qc

— Alexandra ? (@AlexandraAimee) July 4, 2017

there's nothing more american than getting pissed because you think the declaration of independence is shitting on the president pic.twitter.com/gkWSTR8SIY

— Goth Ms. Frizzle (@spookperson) July 4, 2017

Several of the Twitter users who responded negatively to NPR’s posts deleted their accounts or deleted the tweets, with one user saying he made a “dumb comment,” but questioned whether most Americans would be able to identify the Declaration of Independent if it were read to them.

Okay, okay…I screwed up with @npr. I jumped the gun and tweeted when I should have waited for them to finish. I offer my apologies.

— D.G.Davies (@JustEsrafel) July 5, 2017

I Tweeted a VERY dumb comment. But ask yourselves; if read to the average American, would they know that you were reading the DOI? I do now.

— D.G.Davies (@JustEsrafel) July 5, 2017

NPR Spokeswoman Allyssa Pollard said the tweets were shared by thousands of Twitter users and started a “lively discussion” online.

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Nicole Lafond (@Nicole_Lafond) is TPM’s deputy editor, based in New York. She has also worked as the special projects editor and as a senior newswriter for TPM. She has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and previously covered education in central Illinois.

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