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