After the CBC announced a temporary “pause” on its Twitter account, Elon Musk changed the label describing the network from “government-funded” to “69% government-funded media.”.CBC and Radio Canada decided to pause their Twitter activities after the CBC’s main account received the “government-funded” label, only days after Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre publicly asked Elon Musk to do so on Twitter..According to a CBC spokesperson, the broadcaster’s break on Twitter will include all news and corporate accounts. The CBC also sent a letter to Twitter requesting the social media platform to review the label..“We hope this pause will be temporary,” said a CBC spokesperson..Elon Musk responded to CBC's request and outcry later that same night by posting a message that said, “Their concern has been addressed,” with a photo of CBC's updated label, which read “70% government-funded media.” However, he later changed this percentage to 69%..CBC and Radio-Canada had already contested the labelling on Twitter, arguing the platform's policy defines “government-funded media” accounts as those with “varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.”.In a statement Monday, CBC and Radio-Canada said while it's publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation, its editorial independence is protected by the Broadcasting Act. Despite receiving government funding, CBC maintains autonomy in its editorial decisions..“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,” said the CBC..CBC's decision to pause its activities on Twitter after being labelled “government-funded” is similar to U.S. news outlets NPR and PBS, who stopped posting to Twitter last week when they received the same label..The CBC is the only Canadian media outlet labelled “government-funded,” even though numerous outlets receive government funding, including Global, CTV, and Postmedia, publisher of the National Post..Postmedia will receive approximately $35 million in government support and according to the company, “government support” is one of its “four key pillars.”.“Our focus, since March, has been on four key pillars: Preserving Liquidity, Constraining Costs, Maximizing Revenue and Government Support,” said Postmedia CEO Andrew McLeod in the 2020 Postmedia annual report..The label “government-funded” was added to CBC's main account on Twitter a few days after Pierre Poilievre posted a letter on Twitter urging Elon Musk to classify the national broadcaster and its affiliate accounts as “government-funded.”.“We must protect Canadians against disinformation and manipulation by state media,” tweeted Poilievre..After the label was added, Poilievre said “Now people know that it is Trudeau propaganda, not news.” Also, Poilievre promised to defund the CBC.
