The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation paused its use of Twitter on Monday after the social media platform owned by Elon Musk stamped CBC’s account with a label the public broadcaster says is intended to undermine its credibility.
Twitter labelled CBC/Radio-Canada “government-funded media” — the same label that prompted National Public Radio in the US to similarly quit Twitter last Wednesday.
“Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way,” CBC spokesman Leon Mar said in a statement announcing the change Monday afternoon.
“Consequently, we will be pausing our activity on our corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related accounts,” the statement said.CBC has sent a letter to Twitter asking the company to re-examine the designation.CBC does not meet those criteria, Mar argued, because it is publicly funded through a parliamentary appropriation that is voted upon by all members of Parliament, and its editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act.
The CBC’s board of directors determines how the funding it receives is spent. In 2021-22, the CBC received more than $1.2 billion Canadian (US$900 million) in government funding.
Opposition Conservative Party of Canada Pierre Poilievre had urged Twitter to label CBC. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau criticised Poilievre for what he called an “attack on a foundational Canadian institution.”
