[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text dp_text_size=”size-4″]After the BBC objected to being labelled as “government-funded media” on Twitter, Elon Musk described it as “among the least biassed” media organisations.
After the designation was attached to the main @BBC account, the BBC contacted Twitter. The label leads to a page in Twitter’s help centre that defines “state-affiliated media” as outlets where the government “exercises control over editorial content” in a variety of ways.
“The BBC is, and always has been, independent,” the BBC added in its statement. The British public funds us through the licence fee.”
The BBC has operated under a Royal Charter agreed with the government since 1927, which states that the corporation “must be independent,” particularly over “editorial and creative decisions, the times and manner in which its output and services are supplied, and in the management of its affairs.”
Also Read: Twitter changes it’s famous blue bird logo to Dogecoin
Every year, Britons pay a £159 licence fee to fund the corporation’s output. Individual households pay the fee, which is set by the government.
Musk responded to the complaint by asking, “Is the Twitter label accurate?”
“We are aiming for maximum transparency and accuracy,” he wrote in an email to the BBC. Linking to ownership and funding source makes sense.
“I believe that media organisations should be self-aware and not falsely claim that there is no bias.” Every organisation has bias, some obviously more than others.
“I should mention that I follow BBC news on Twitter because I believe it to be one of the least biassed.”
While the @BBC account, which has 2.2 million followers, has been given the label, other popular accounts associated with the broadcaster’s news and sport output, such as BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News, are not.
Twitter also labelled America’s National Public Radio (NPR) as “state-affiliated media,” a designation shared by Russia’s RT and China’s Xinhua News. Later, the description was changed to the same “government funded media” tag that now appears on the @BBC account.
NPR, which receives some funding from public institutions but primarily from corporate sponsorships and membership fees, had stated that it would cease tweeting from the account unless it was amended.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
