Canada Public Broadcaster Joins NPR in Quitting Twitter Over Label Uproar
Canadian Broadcasting Corp., a public broadcaster for radio and television, was designated by Twitter as ‘government-funded media.’ Photo: Artur Widak/Zuma Press By Paul Vieira April 17, 2023 5:36 pm ET OTTAWA—Canada’s main public broadcaster said Monday that it was pausing activity on Twitter, becoming the latest media outlet to refrain from posting because of the social-media platform’s policy on labeling accounts. Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the decision comes a day after Twitter labeled its @CBC account as “government-funded media.” Twitter defines such outlets as those that rely mostly on government funding to carry out operations “and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.” Last week, National Public Radio said it would back away fro
Canadian Broadcasting Corp., a public broadcaster for radio and television, was designated by Twitter as ‘government-funded media.’
Photo: Artur Widak/Zuma Press
By
OTTAWA—Canada’s main public broadcaster said Monday that it was pausing activity on Twitter, becoming the latest media outlet to refrain from posting because of the social-media platform’s policy on labeling accounts.
Canadian Broadcasting Corp. said the decision comes a day after Twitter labeled its @CBC account as “government-funded media.” Twitter defines such outlets as those that rely mostly on government funding to carry out operations “and may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.”
Last week, National Public Radio said it would back away from using Twitter over receiving the same label. In response, Twitter owner Elon Musk tweeted, “Defund @NPR.” CBC has now joined their ranks, saying in a statement that the labeling is “untrue and deceptive.”
“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 said.
Effective immediately, the broadcaster, which provides programming and news via television and radio in both of the country’s official languages, English and French, said it would be pausing its activity on its corporate account and all news-related accounts. A spokesman for the broadcaster said it sent a letter to Twitter asking it to re-examine the designation.
Twitter responded to an emailed request for comment with a poop emoji.
Twitter’s guidelines say the company adds the designation for government-controlled news sources. Twitter has upended its labeling system for verified accounts since Mr. Musk took over the platform last year. The company has said it wants to provide people with more context about certain profiles.
The most recent financial data from CBC indicates that government funding of 1.24 billion Canadian dollars, or the equivalent of $930 million, covered about two-thirds of its expenses for the 2021-22 fiscal year. In comparison, NPR says on its website that less than 1% of its budget comes from federal grants, including from the government-supported Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Most of NPR’s revenue comes from corporate sponsorships, it says, along with dues and fees paid by its member stations.
The British Broadcasting Corp. derives about 70% of its funding from a license fee, charged to households for watching BBC programming on television or online. Twitter has labeled the BBC as “publicly-funded media.”
Last week, the leader of Canada’s Conservative Party, Pierre Poilievre, asked Twitter to label CBC as “government-funded media,” saying that, “We must protect Canadians against disinformation and manipulation by state media.” Mr. Poilievre has promised to cut all funding to the public broadcaster should he win power.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that CBC is an important Canadian institution, delivering news and programming to remote and rural parts of the country. He criticized Mr. Poilievre for seeking help from U.S. digital companies to attack the media outlet.
Write to Paul Vieira at [email protected]
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