As Elon Musk's Twitter labels BBC as 'government-funded media', the British broadcaster has objected to this new development. This came after the social media giant described BBC as "government-funded media" on its profile page. Twitter designated the media house as one which is state-financed but with editorial independence in its policy. Shortly afterwards this move, the BBC objected to Twitter's label, saying it worked towards "public services" through licence fees.

 

 

It is not just BBC, other broadcasters including PBS, and NPR has been labelled in a similar way which was objected by the media platforms. However, it does not appear on other government-backed outlets, Qatar's Al Jazeera.

 

The @BBC account - which has 2.2 million followers - is currently branded as government funded. The label has not been given to the BBC's other accounts, including BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News. However, BBC operates through a Royal Charter agreed upon with the government. The BBC Charter states that the corporation "must be independent" over "editorial and creative decisions, the times and manner in which its output and services are supplied, and in the management of its affairs."

 

This comes after a row erupted between Musk and the American NPR network after Musk changed NPR's label to "state-affiliated media" which was later re-labelled as “government-funded media”. Protesting against the move, NPR had stopped tweeting and had informed the users to find them in every other place where they read the news. The label from Twitter even sparked a backlash from the White House, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre saying "There's no doubt of the independence of NPR's journalists."

 

Twitter defines state-affiliated media outlets as outlets "where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution." In its policy, Twitter enumerated how the government-funded media label was different from "state-affiliated media", stating the former is state-financed but with editorial independence.

The BBC objected to the new label on one of its main Twitter handles. The corporation said it was in talks with the social media company to "resolve the issue as soon as possible". Issuing a statement, the BBC said, "The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee."

It may be noted that the $197 annual licence fee is required by British laws to watch live television broadcasts or streaming in the UK. It is a regulation set by the government and residents of UK households pay the amount to avail of the services.