Twitter has put a “government funded media” tag on CBC’s account in what is the social media company’s latest move to stamp public broadcasters with designations.
“Government-funded media is defined as outlets where the government provides some or all of the funding for the outlet and may have varying degrees of government involvement on editorial content”, according to Twitter.
National Public Radio in the United States announced earlier this month that it was leaving the platform after Twitter branded its account a “state-affiliated media outlet”, saying it undermined their credibility by “falsely implying that we are not editorially independent”.
Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre recently asked Twitter CEO Elon Musk to add a “government funded” tag to accounts that promote CBC “news-related” content.
Reacting to the placement of the label on Sunday, Poilievre tweeted that the CBC had been “officially exposed” as “Trudeau propaganda, not news.”
We must protect Canadians from misinformation and manipulation by state media.
That’s why I ask @Twitter< /a> @elonmusk to accurately refer to CBC as “government funded media”.
It is a fact. And Canadians deserve the facts. pic.twitter.com/V1GRFHIcvz
—@PierrePoilievre
The CBC is a Crown corporation 100% owned by the government, but operated at arm’s length from the government.
In a statement on Sunday evening, CBC spokesman Leon Mar stressed that the government does not influence CBC’s editorial content.
“Twitter’s own policy defines government-funded media as instances where the government ‘may have varying degrees of government involvement on editorial content,’ which is clearly not the case with CBC/Radio-Canada.” , said Mar.
“CBC/Radio-Canada is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation voted by all members of Parliament. Its editorial independence is protected by the Broadcasting Act.
In its 2021-2022 annual report, the CBC announced $1.24 billion in government funding. It also brought in $651 million in revenue, largely from advertising during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and the Beijing 2022 Olympics, which were held in the same fiscal year, and higher demand for the television commercial than the previous year. In fiscal year 2020-21, CBC reported $1.39 billion in government funding and $504 million in revenue.