CBC pauses Twitter activity after receiving 'government-funded media' label

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced Monday it has paused its Twitter usage after the social media platform put a "Government-funded media" label on the public broadcaster's account.

CBC/Radio-Canada condemned the "Government-funded media" designation — the same label that led National Public Radio in the U.S. to quit Twitter last week — and said the label undermines the credibility of the Canadian media outlet.

"Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate 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 Mar said in a statement.

"Consequently, we will be pausing our activity on our corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related accounts," the statement continued.

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The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation announced Monday it has paused its Twitter usage after the social media platform put a "Government-funded media" label on the public broadcaster's account. (iStock)

CBC sent Twitter a letter requesting the designation be re-evaluated. The outlet said on Twitter that it is not entirely government-funded, saying that 30% of its funding it earns on its own. 

"Just trying to be accurate. Would they be ok if we said 70% govt funded?" Twitter CEO Elon Musk wrote in a tweet. 

Musk then tweeted a photo showing CBC's label had been changed to "70% Government-funded media." A Twitter user replied by suggesting he change it to 69%, and Musk agreed. CBC's label then read, "69% Government-funded media."

Twitter's policy defines "Government-funded media" as media outlets "where the government provides some or all of the outlet's funding and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content."

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Elon Musk gave CBC a label that reads, "69% Government-funded media." (Getty Images)

Mar argued that CBC does not meet the criteria to be labeled government-funded because it is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all members of Parliament, and that the outlet's editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act.

"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.

In CBC's 2021-22 annual report, the outlet reported receiving more than $1.2 billion Canadian, or U.S. $900 million, in government funding.

Opposition Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre had called on Twitter to label CBC as "Government-funded media." Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Poilievre's comment was an "attack on a foundational Canadian institution."

CBC argues that it does not meet the criteria for Twitter's "Government-funded media" label. (Reuters)

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NPR was initially labeled "state-affiliated media earlier this month, putting it in the same category as Russian state-controlled RT and China's official state news agency Xinhua. Twitter later changed NPR's label to "Government-funded media," but the outlet insists this is still misleading and announced on Wednesday it was stopping activity on the social media platform.

U.S. public broadcaster PBS also quit Twitter after being labeled "Government-funded media" while BBC in the U.K. has a "Publicly-funded media" designation. BBC is still posting on Twitter. Austalia ABC News is still using Twitter after its "Government-funded media" label.

CBC Sports accounts, entertainment-related accounts and any regional accounts will all pause Twitter activity.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.