Twitter Slaps “Government-Funded” Media On Additional Outlets

Elon Musk’s Twitter has continued labeling mainstream media outlets as “government-funded” media.

Despite their outcries, NPR and BBC previously received the labels.

Mainstream Media Outlet Becomes First Major News Organization to Quit Twitter

Mainstream Media Outlet Becomes First Major News Organization to Quit Twitter

NPR decided to leave Twitter because of the label.

Mainstream Media Outlet Becomes First Major News Organization to Quit Twitter

Hopefully, Twitter's new labels will entice additional fake news outlets to ditch the social media platform.

Mainstream outlets in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand earned their labels.

#BREAKING: Twitter has rolled out its “Government-funded Media” label on state-affiliated accounts worldwide, including Australia, New Zealand and Canada. pic.twitter.com/LWU8Yk3NVU

— Avi Yemini (@OzraeliAvi) April 16, 2023

CBC complained about being labeled Justin Trudeau's propaganda mouthpiece.

BREAKING: CBC officially exposed as “government-funded media”.

Now people know that it is Trudeau propaganda, not news.

Sign here to save $1 billion & defund the CBC: https://t.co/R8BvsAcR3O pic.twitter.com/Akf6IzdIb2

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 16, 2023

In response, the outlet announced it's pausing Twitter activities.

Our journalism is impartial and independent. To suggest otherwise is untrue. That is why we are pausing our activities on @Twitter. | Notre journalisme est impartial et indépendant. Prétendre le contraire est faux. C’est pourquoi nous suspendons nos activités sur @Twitter.

— CBC/Radio-Canada (@CBCRadioCanada) April 17, 2023

(1/3) Twitter’s own policy defines government-funded media as cases where the government “may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,” which is clearly not the case with CBC/Radio-Canada.
→ https://t.co/VrGdwTCYzP

— CBC/Radio-Canada (@CBCRadioCanada) April 17, 2023

(3/3) In addition, our journalism is independent and subject to our Journalistic Standards and Practices, as well as an independent complaints process through @CBCOmbud and @ombudsmanrc.
→ https://t.co/SclqfHjdKT

— CBC/Radio-Canada (@CBCRadioCanada) April 17, 2023

In its defense, CBC admitted that it's "publicly-funded" to the amount of $1.24 billion.

In a statement Sunday night, Mar emphasized the government does not influence CBC's editorial content.

"Twitter's own policy defines government-funded media as cases where the government 'may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,' which is clearly not the case with CBC/Radio-Canada," Mar said.

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"CBC/Radio-Canada is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all Members of Parliament. Its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act."

Mar later said that Twitter did not consult with CBC before applying the label.

Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre had recently called on Twitter CEO Elon Musk to add a "government-funded" label to accounts that promote "news-related" content from CBC.

Reacting to the label being implemented on Sunday, Poilievre tweeted that the CBC has been "officially exposed" as "Trudeau propaganda, not news."

In its 2021-22 annual report, the CBC reported government funding of $1.24 billion. It also reported $651 million in revenue, largely from advertising during the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games and the 2022 Beijing Olympic Games, which were held in the same fiscal year, and stronger demand for television advertising than the previous year. In the fiscal year 2020-21, CBC reported $1.39 billion in government funding and $504 million in revenue.

We must protect Canadians against disinformation and manipulation by state media.

That is why I’m asking @Twitter @elonmusk to accurately label CBC as “government-funded media”.

It is a fact. And Canadians deserve the facts. pic.twitter.com/V1GRFHIcvz

— Pierre Poilievre (@PierrePoilievre) April 11, 2023

Justin Trudeau wasn't very happy about his propaganda outlet being accurately labeled:

Trudeau reacts to @elonmusk accurately labeling CBC as "government-funded media" pic.twitter.com/i4JOnRGKuE

— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) April 17, 2023

Australia's ABC News also complained about its new label.

"The ABC is a publicly funded broadcaster, governed by the ABC Charter which is enshrined in legislation. For more than 90 years the ABC has always been and remains an independent media organisation, free from political and commercial interests," the outlet stated on Twitter.

FYI: The ABC is a publicly funded broadcaster, governed by the ABC Charter which is enshrined in legislation. For more than 90 years the ABC has always been and remains an independent media organisation, free from political and commercial interests.

— ABC News (@abcnews) April 17, 2023

According to Summit News, Australia's SBS (Special Broadcasting Service) also received the label.

The Twitter label "government-funded media" was given to Australia's public broadcasters, warning users they "may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content".
https://t.co/06XruDFZHC

— SBS News (@SBSNews) April 17, 2023

From Summit News:

In a statement the outlet noted “The ABC doesn’t currently have any plans to shut down all its Twitter accounts. We’re liaising with Twitter regarding changes to account verification and labels.”

An SBS spokesperson noted that the label “publicly funded” would be more accurate, stating “While we appreciate Twitter’s motivations with regard to transparency on its platform, we believe a ‘publicly funded media’ label better reflects the hybrid public-commercial nature of our funding model and the fact that SBS retains full independence from government in our news editorial and content decision-making.”

Who should be labeled "government-funded" media next?