<P> Over the course of NPR's history, controversies have arisen over several incidents and topics . </P> <P> NPR has been accused of displaying both liberal bias, as alleged in work such as a UCLA and University of Missouri study of Morning Edition, and conservative bias, including criticism of alleged reliance on conservative think - tanks . NPR has also been accused of bias related to specific topics, including support of the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and coverage of Israel . The NPR ombudsman has described how NPR's coverage of the Israel - Palestinian conflict has been simultaneously criticized as biased by both sides . UT Austin journalism professor and author Robert Jensen has criticized NPR as taking a pro-war stance during coverage of Iraq war protests . </P> <P> In 2002 and 2003, surveys and follow - up focus groups conducted by the Tarrance Group and Lake Snell Perry & Associates have indicated that, "The majority of the U.S. adult population does not believe that the news and information programming on public broadcasting is biased . The plurality of Americans indicate that there is no apparent bias one way or the other, while approximately two - in - ten detect a liberal bias and approximately one - in - ten detect a conservative bias ." </P> <P> In a controversial act, NPR banned in 2009 the use of the word "torture" in the context of the Bush administration's use of enhanced interrogation techniques . NPR's Ombudswoman Alicia Shepard's defense of the policy was that "calling waterboarding torture is tantamount to taking sides ." But Berkeley Professor of Linguistics, Geoffrey Nunberg pointed out that virtually all media around the world, other than what he called the "spineless U.S. media", call these techniques torture . In an article which criticized NPR and other U.S. media for their use of euphemisms for torture, Glenn Greenwald discussed what he called the enabling "corruption of American journalism": </P>

Where does the majority of federal funding come from