Twitter has labeled the BBC as “government funded media” along with a number of other major mainstream news outlets, causing the British media source to get its fur up following the heavy backlash over NPR’s branding last week.

(Video Credit: GBNews)

The BBC angrily objected to the designation on Twitter and has contacted the social media platform demanding that the label be removed from its main account. The network asserts it is “independent.”

“We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible,” BBC said in a statement given to The Hill. “The BBC is, and always has been, independent.”

Twitter CEO Elon Musk responded to the complaint, poking the British government mouthpiece even harder, “Is the Twitter label accurate?”

“We are aiming for maximum transparency and accuracy. Linking to ownership and source of funds probably makes sense. I do think media organizations should be self-aware and not falsely claim the complete absence of bias. All organizations have bias, some obviously much more than others,” Musk said in an email sent to the BBC. “I should note that I follow BBC News on Twitter, because I think it is among the least biased.”

What does BBC stand for again? I keep forgetting.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 9, 2023

That did not seem to mollify the British news outlet in the least.

“We are funded by the British public through the license fee,” the broadcaster further said in its statement on the matter.

The label assigned to the BBC account links to a page on Twitter’s help center that defines “state-affiliated media” as outlets where the government “exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.”

The much larger BBC “Breaking News” and “Sports” accounts were not labeled as “government funded media” previously, but it appears they have also earned the gold checkmark now as well.

The tag was affixed to the accounts of a number of other news outlets that receive some state support including PBS and Voice of America.

NEW 🚨 Twitter has now labelled NPR, BBC, Voice of America and PBS as “Government Funded Media” pic.twitter.com/6FxASrtl6K

— Insider Paper (@TheInsiderPaper) April 9, 2023

The BBC has always contended that it is impartial, despite being widely despised by many who feel it definitely kowtows to the British government. The media outlet asserts that it operates through a Royal Charter agreed with the government which says it “must be independent.” Of course, those are just words in a charter and many contend it does not reflect reality.

According to Sky News, Brits pay a £159  yearly license fee to fund the corporation’s reporting. The figure is set by the government but paid for by individual households which means it’s a distinction without a difference. The government sidestepped the issue by forcibly having Britons pay for it so they could say they didn’t fund the network.

Journalist Jake Kanter called out Musk over the label.

“The BBC is not funded by the UK government. It is funded by the British public, through a system known as the licence fee,” he said, adding that the BBC’s “operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government.”

Hi @elonmusk.

The @BBC is not funded by the UK government.

It is funded by the British public through a system known as the licence fee.

The BBC's operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government pic.twitter.com/GvMpcSWIMe

— Jake Kanter (@Jake_Kanter) April 8, 2023

We need to add more granularity to editorial influence, as it varies greatly. I don’t actually think the BBC is as biased as some other government-funded media, but it is silly of the BBC to claim zero influence.

Minor government influence in their case would be accurate.

— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) April 10, 2023

The main BBC account on Twitter has 2.2 million followers. It primarily tweets BBC-produced TV programs, radio shows, podcasts, and other non-news material these days.

Twitter also removed the “state-affiliated media” label from NPR and changed it to “government funded media” just as it did with the BBC. “State-affiliated media” has traditionally been reserved as a descriptor for despotic communist regimes such as Russia and China which use the news as a government-controlled form of propaganda to control the masses.

https://twitter.com/Emme0703/status/1645176631374278657

NPR responded to the label by saying it would no longer tweet from its account of 8.8 million followers until it was removed. The NPR account has remained inactive despite Twitter changing the label from “state-affiliated” to “government funded media” over the weekend.

NPR technology reporter Bobby Allyn tweeted on Saturday that Musk said the platform would be applying the “government funded media” label “to a larger number of institutions.”

NEW: Label on NPR’s main account changed to “government funded,” and Elon tells me Twitter is “applying it to a larger number of institutions.”

— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 8, 2023

Twitter incensed the New York Times this week as well by removing its blue verification checkmark from its account because it refuses to pay $8 a month for it.

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