Author: philip
In recent news, the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) has expressed its frustration with Twitter, which recently labeled the renowned news organization as a “government-funded media” outlet. The BBC is mainly funded by households in the United Kingdom through mandatory license fees, which are required for watching non-BBC channels or live services.
Despite Twitter’s accusation, the BBC has maintained its stance as an independent and impartial news source. The organization has always been committed to delivering accurate and trustworthy journalism to its viewers. The BBC’s reputation, built over decades of quality programming, remains a testament to its dedication to journalism.
The BBC is urging Twitter to quickly and accurately resolve the issue, and to recognize the vital role that free and independent journalism plays in society.
On Monday, the BBC disclosed that it supplements its income through commercial operations. Meanwhile, Twitter has labeled the @BBC account, which boasts 2.2 million followers, as “government funded”. Notably, this label has not been applied to other BBC accounts such as BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News. Twitter has not provided a clear definition for what it means by “government funded media”.
In response to the labeling, the BBC has issued a statement to CNN, stating that it is currently in talks with Twitter to resolve the issue as soon as possible. The BBC further emphasized its independence and funding source, which is derived from the British public via the license fee. Despite the controversy, the BBC remains committed to delivering impartial news and maintaining its reputation for reliability and trustworthiness in journalism.
The BBC was given the “government-funded media” label by Twitter, following a similar label that was given to America’s National Public Radio (NPR). Originally, Twitter had classified NPR as “state-affiliated media,” which placed it in the same category as Russia’s propaganda network RT and China’s Xinhua News Agency. However, NPR pushed back against the label and refused to tweet from the account while it was in place. Twitter eventually changed the label to “government-funded media” in response to NPR’s objections.
It is worth noting that while NPR does receive some funding from public institutions, the majority of its funding comes from sources such as corporate sponsorships and NPR membership fees.
To define state-affiliated media outlets, Twitter specifies them as media platforms that are subject to the control of the state in terms of editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.
