Twitter expands 'government-funded media' labels to global accounts

Social media platform Twitter this week expanded its use of "government-funded media" labels to designate news outlets and accounts that receive funding from state actors.

Public broadcasters in Canada, Australia, and New Zealand all appear to have been assigned the label. The Australian Broadcasting Corporation, RNZ (New Zealand's public broadcaster), and the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation all sport the new designation on their official accounts.

The @CBC account sports a label reading "69% Government-funded media." Originally, the account received a standard "Government-funded media" label, but Twitter CEO Elon Musk adjusted it in response to the network's protest that it receives only partial funding from government sources. Initially, Musk designated it as being "70% Government-funded" but subsequently adjusted it to the more comic label after another account urged him to "give them the benefit of a doubt."

The rollout of the labels follows a spat between Twitter and National Public Radio over the platform's initial labeling of the outlet as "US state-affiliated media." Twitter CEO Elon Musk later revised it to read "government-funded," but the change did not placate the outlet, which now refuses to post on the platform.

PBS followed NPR's lead and has refused to post on Twitter. Its handle now includes a description, reading "PBS’s editorial independence is central to our work and will never change. We produce trustworthy content that features unbiased reporting."

Ben Whedon is an editor and reporter for Just the News. Follow him on Twitter.