State-funded NPR goes on quest to fact-check Trump, ends up owning itself instead

The taxpayer-funded news outlet NPR contradicted its own reporting Wednesday on astronauts stranded in the International Space Station (ISS) in order to fact-check President Donald Trump.

NPR reported Wednesday that American astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams were not “stranded” as Trump had suggested in announcing his request to Elon Musk’s SpaceX to rescue the two ISS crew members. However, NPR previously referred to the astronauts as “stranded” aboard the station in multiple headlines last year.

“I have just asked Elon Musk and @SpaceX to ‘go get’ the 2 brave astronauts who have been virtually abandoned in space by the Biden Administration,” Trump said on Truth Social Tuesday. “They have been waiting for many months on @Space Station. Elon will soon be on his way. Hopefully, all will be safe. Good luck Elon!!!”

“Trump asks SpaceX to ‘go get’ two stranded ISS astronauts. They’re not stranded,” NPR’s headline reads.

The astronauts initially arrived on the ISS in June 2024 on a Boeing Starliner spacecraft, which they discovered had technical issues that would preclude their safe reentry into Earth’s atmosphere. An August National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) audit of Boeing found that their rockets were of poor quality and had numerous manufacturing irregularities.

NPR reported Wednesday that NASA denied that the astronauts were “stranded” multiple times, and linked to its own article which stated that the astronauts were indeed stranded. NASA Commercial Crew Program manager Steve Stich said in June that the pair on the space station weren’t “stranded” in space, while also admitting that NASA didn’t have a definite timeline for their return at the time, according to CBS.

SpaceX has planned to bring the astronauts back since August, according to NPR’s own reporting at the time. The astronauts’ replacements had their flight delayed until March from the initial February date, with the replacements’ arrival allowing the two stranded astronauts to return in the SpaceX capsule currently docked at the station.

NPR calls federal funding “essential” to its operations. Even though less than 1% of NPR’s funding comes from direct grants, the outlet receives funding from institutions that get public dollars themselves, such as universities and state and local sources.

The outlet has long fielded accusations of having a left-wing bias in its reporting. Uri Berliner, a former 25-year veteran editor at NPR, said in April 2024 that the outlet had a clear anti-Trump bias and that “an open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR.”

NPR did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.

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