Twitter has put a “government-funded media” label on CBC’s account.
The label on CBC’s account is the latest move by Twitter to stamp public broadcasters with designations.
“Government-funded media is defined as outlets where the government provides some or all of the outlet’s funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,” according to Twitter.
National Public Radio in the U.S. announced earlier this month that it is leaving the platform after Twitter labelled its account as “state-affiliated media,” saying that doing so undermines their credibility by “falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.”
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently called on Twitter CEO Elon Musk to add a “government-funded” label to accounts that promote “news-related” content from CBC.
We must protect Canadians against disinformation and manipulation by state media.<br><br>That is why I’m asking <a href=”https://twitter.com/Twitter?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@Twitter</a> <a href=”https://twitter.com/elonmusk?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw”>@elonmusk</a> to accurately label CBC as “government-funded media”.<br><br>It is a fact. And Canadians deserve the facts. <a href=”https://t.co/V1GRFHIcvz”>pic.twitter.com/V1GRFHIcvz</a>
—@PierrePoilievre
Reacting to the label being implemented on Sunday, Poilievre tweeted that the CBC has been “officially exposed” as “Trudeau propaganda, not news.”
The CBC is a Crown corporation, wholly owned by the state but operated at arm’s length from government.
“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,” corporate spokesperson Leon Mar said in a statement late Sunday.
“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.”
In its 2021-2022 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 2020-2021, CBC reported $1.39 billion in government funding and $504 million in revenue.
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