Public broadcaster Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s (CBC) official Twitter account was recently tagged with a label stating “69% Government-funded Media” by the social media platform. This comes after the label previously displayed “70% Government-funded Media”. The change was prompted by a statement from Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, who referenced CBC’s claim that they are “less than 70% government-funded”, leading to the adjustment in the label. The labeling of CBC’s Twitter account has sparked a controversy, with CBC announcing that they will temporarily pause their Twitter activities in response. The dispute has also drawn attention from the Prime Minister of Canada and his Conservative rival, Pierre Poilievre.
The official Twitter account of the Canadian public broadcaster, “@CBC,” was recently labeled as “69% Government-funded Media”, according to CBC’s Twitter profile. This label appeared on some of CBC’s Twitter feeds on Sunday, causing confusion and prompting CBC to respond.
Currently, Twitter’s help center page needs to provide clear information about the meaning or significance of this new label. Reuters contacted CBC for comment, but there has been no immediate response.
In response to the label, CBC clarified that the government does not directly fund it but instead is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all Members of Parliament. However, the specific rationale behind the “69%” label remains unclear.
The CBC said on Monday, “Our journalism is impartial and independent. To suggest otherwise is untrue. That is why we are pausing our activities on @Twitter.”
The Prime minister of Canada has accused Pierre Poilievre
The CBC also highlighted that advertising revenue significantly covers its costs across all platforms, indicating that it does not solely rely on government funding. In a recent development, the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, accused Pierre Poilievre, his Conservative rival, of enlisting U.S. billionaires to attack CBC after Poilievre urged Elon Musk to label CBC as “government-funded” on Twitter. Poilievre had previously written to Musk requesting an “accurate” label for CBC.
Poilievre, who assumed leadership of the Conservative party last year and has been campaigning to defund CBC, celebrated the decision to label CBC as “government-funded” on Twitter, claiming that it exposed CBC as “Trudeau propaganda” rather than a legitimate news source.
Trudeau addressed the issue, stating to reporters, “Attacking this Canadian institution, attacking the culture and local content that is so important to so many Canadians, really indicates the values and the approach that Mr. Poilievre is putting forward. In order to attack this institution that is important for many, many Canadians, he runs to American billionaires, the tech giants that they continue to defend.”
Labeling of CBC as “government-funded”
Trudeau’s minority government is currently supported by the left-leaning New Democrats, and the next official election in Canada is not scheduled until 2025.
In a related development, U.S. broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR) recently announced that it would cease posting content on its 52 official Twitter feeds as a protest. This decision comes in response to a label applied by Twitter that implies government involvement in NPR’s content, similar to the labeling of CBC as “government-funded.” NPR has expressed concerns about the accuracy and implications of such labels, highlighting that they do not accurately reflect their independent and non-governmental status.
Furthermore, Canada’s current Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, leads a minority government that relies on support from the New Democratic Party (NDP) to stay in power. This political dynamic adds another layer of complexity to the situation. Some speculate that labeling CBC as “government-funded” may be politically motivated, with critics accusing the Conservative Party, led by Pierre Poilievre, of leveraging the labeling for their campaign to defund CBC.
