BREAKING: CBC pauses Twitter use over ‘government-funded’ label

Apr 18, 2023 | Canadian News, Headlines, News

By Andre La Rosa-Rodriguez

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) announced on April 17 it will be “pausing” its use of Twitter after their main account was labeled “Government-funded Media” on the platform.

CBC spokesperson Leon Mar said they will be halting their activities on the social media app because the designation 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,” he said in a statement.

This comes a week after Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre urged Twitter in a letter to add the label in the “interest of transparency” because the outlet’s latest annual report showed the media organization had received over $1.2 billion from the Canadian government. Minutes after the label was placed on the outlet, he tweeted that CBC has been “exposed” and promoted a “Defund the CBC” petition.

According to Twitter regulations, having the designation means an outlet may be receiving partial to full government funding and that there can be “varying degrees of government involvement” in the content produced.

CBC said that they maintain editorial independence which is protected by law in the Broadcasting Act that preserves “freedom of expression” and “journalistic, creative or programming independence.” The act also protects their federal funding which is received through a parliamentary appropriation which must be voted by all MPs.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has criticized Poilievre and the Conservatives’ actions towards CBC and called it an “attack” on a Canadians.

“They’re choosing to constantly attack independent media organizations, journalists who are working hard to keep Canadians informed and support our democracy,” he said.

The government label has also been stamped on U.S. outlets like National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) earlier in the month. Both have chosen to quit Twitter until the label is changed.

The BBC was given a “government-funded” label on April 9, before the outlet’s dispute had Twitter owner Elon Musk change the account to “publicly-funded” three days later in an effort “to be accurate.”

Most recently, Australia’s ABC and Special Broadcasting Service (SBS) have been given the designation. Both have released statements defending their outlets as independent media organizations.

Musk has changed CBC’s label to “69 per cent Government Funded Media” after a re-evaluation when the CBC stated it received less than 70 per cent funding from Parliament.

The media organization has chosen to remain active in other social media apps. They will not be returning to Twitter until further notice.