Canadian public radio CBC followed in the footsteps of its US counterpart, NPR, and left Twitter after being labeled by the social network as “government-funded media”. Public channels in France and the UK also received a new label on their accounts, but “publicly funded media”. The ideological battle behind this nomenclature.

Prior to Elon Musk’s arrival at the helm of Twitter, the “government-affiliated media” label served to warn the public that behind journalistic companies such as RT Russia (Ex Russia Today) or Xinhua China (New China) was a communications device. whose editorial lines depend on these regimes. While it’s not said explicitly, it’s about warning about content produced to serve the system without press freedom or verified information.

When Elon Musk took the reins on Twitter, he came with promises of greater transparency in the platform’s posting rules and to balance what he saw as the company’s left-wing bias which had shut down several accounts of right-wing opinion leaders. including former President Donald Trump.

At the same time, Musk began to question the editorial lines of progressive American media, starting with The New York Times, which removes its verification on the platform. The newspaper, which the monarch accused of bias, announced that it would not vote for the payment wafer, which Musk had marketed to the general public to try to make Twitter finally profitable.

Then, it was the turn of the American public radio station NPR to wake up with the label “Government financed media”. NPR, known for its traditionally progressive political positions, decided April 12 that it would no longer publish on the bird network, explaining that it “produces independent journalism”.

The label in question later appeared on the UK’s BBC account, which after complaining to Musk obtained the change and now reads “Publicly funded.”

“This label is false and misleading”

On Monday, public radio Canada (CBC) and its French-language version of Radio-Canada announced they were leaving Twitter after the social network labeled them a government-funded outlet, casting doubt on their editorial independence.

In a statement, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation/Radio-Canada said Twitter had added a new label “government-funded media” to its profile, a distinction similar to that of major media outlets in authoritarian countries like China and Russia. In reality, Twitter makes a distinction between “state-affiliated” and “government-funded” media.

“In the case of CBC/Radio-Canada, this label is false and misleading,” said the Canadian statement.

Although the radio is publicly funded, he says its editorial independence is protected by Canadian media laws.

“Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of their work by allowing our independence to be misrepresented in that way.”

“Therefore, we will cease our activities on the company and all accounts related to CBC and Radio-Canada news.”

Like American NPR, the station invites Canadians to follow its services on other social networks.

Twitter’s decision comes a week after conservative Canadian leader Pierre Poilievre wrote to Musk asking him to put the label on public radio.

“Now people know this is Trudeau propaganda, not news,” he tweeted after the announcement.

Meanwhile, the “publicly funded” label has also made its way to French media, such as RFI, whose French account has carried the label since Monday.