CBC ‘pauses’ Twitter after naming ‘government-funded media’

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation suspended its use of Twitter on Monday after Elon Musk’s social media platform stamped CBC’s account with a tag that the public broadcaster says is intended to undermine its credibility.

Twitter has called CBC/Radio-Canada “government-funded media” — the same label that prompted National Public Radio in the US to similarly leave Twitter last Wednesday.

“Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to connect with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way,” CBC spokesman Leon Marr said in a statement announcing. Monday afternoon change.

“As a result, we will be pausing activity on our corporate Twitter account and all accounts related to CBC News and Radio-Canada,” the statement said.

CBC sent a message to Twitter asking the company to re-examine the designation.

Marr argued that the CBC does not meet these criteria, as it is generally funded through parliamentary accreditation which is voted on by all members of Parliament, and its editorial independence is protected by law in the Broadcasting Act.

The CBC Board of Directors determines how the funding it receives is spent. In 2021-22, the CBC has received more than CAD 1.2 billion (US$900 million) in government funding.

The leader of Canada’s opposition Conservative Party, Pierre Poiliver, urged Twitter to name the CBC. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticized Polliver for what he called “an attack on a constituent Canadian institution”.

Initially, Twitter labeled NPR’s main account as “state media,” a term also used to designate media controlled or heavily influenced by authoritarian governments, such as Russia and China. Twitter later changed the label to “Government Funded Media,” but to NPR — which relies on the government for a fraction of its funding — it’s still misleading.

Twitter responded to a request for comment on why the sticker was applied and whether it would be removed or changed with an automatically generated email emoji.

More than any of its competitors, Twitter said its users come to it to keep track of current events. This made it an attractive place for news outlets to share their stories and reinforced Twitter’s moves to combat the spread of misinformation. But Musk has long expressed his disdain for professional journalists and said he wants to elevate the opinions and experiences of the “ordinary citizen”.