After Twitter described it as “Government-supported media,” the BBC requested a fast settlement. Britain’s national broadcaster is primarily supported by licence fees paid by UK homes, which are also necessary to access non-BBC channels or live services. Revenue from business operations serves as a supplement to this
The BBC Twitter account, which has 2.2 million followers, is currently identified as being supported by the government. Other BBC accounts, such as BBC News (Global) and BBC Breaking News, are not now using the title. In Twitter’s eyes, “government-supported media” has not been defined.
The BBC said in a statement given to CNN: “We are speaking to Twitter to rectify this issue as quickly as possible. The BBC is and has always been impartial.
The BBC was given the label after American National Public Radio was given a comparable one (NPR). The US station was initially classified by Twitter as “state-affiliated media,” putting it on par with the Chinese news agency Xinhua and the Russian propaganda network RT.
It was modified to “Government-supported media” after an outcry from NPR declared it would not tweet from the account while the label was in place. Some of NPR’s funding comes from government organisations, but most come from business sponsorships and members’ dues.
State-affiliated media organisations are those where “the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and control over production and dissemination,” according to a definition provided by Twitter.
Even the White House reacted negatively to the Twitter moniker, with Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre declaring that “there is no question of the independence of NPR’s journalists.”
Some of NPR’s funding comes from government organisations, but most come from business sponsorships and members’ dues. State-affiliated media organisations are ones “where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect,” according to Twitter.
