An academic has criticized the recent labelling of media accounts by tech companies, saying that it is “terrible” to label them in an ad hoc and reactionary manner. Sara Grimes, the director of the Knowledge Media Design Institute at the University of Toronto, said that public and government-funded classifications, such as those Twitter gave to the BBC and CBC, are only valid and helpful if they are based on an informed process. She added that labels should be applied after a factual and transparent evaluation that uses clear and consistent definitions.
According to Grimes, inaccurate or overly simplified labels that lack context are at best ambiguous and, at worst, a form of misinformation. To ensure that the labelling process is effective, it must involve people with actual knowledge of how media companies operate. Otherwise, the usefulness of labels is questionable at best, she said.
Grimes’s remarks come after CBC paused its use of Twitter on Monday because the social media company labelled it “government-funded media.” Twitter CEO Elon Musk later changed the label to “70% government-funded” and then “69% government-funded,” despite CBC saying the labels were unfair because, even with government funding, the broadcaster is editorially independent.
The issue of labelling media companies has been a topic of debate in recent years, with many arguing that social media companies have too much power to control the narrative and that their labelling practices can be inaccurate or misleading. Grimes’s comments serve as a reminder that any labelling process should be based on clear and transparent criteria, and involve experts in the field to ensure accuracy and fairness.