OTTAWA, April 17 – A dispute has erupted on Twitter between Elon Musk, the owner of the social media platform, and Canada’s public broadcaster CBC over the labeling of CBC as “government-funded Media.” The Twitter feud has also drawn in Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his Conservative rival Pierre Poilievre, adding a political dimension to the controversy.
The issue arose on Sunday when some CBC Twitter feeds started carrying the label “government-funded Media.” In response, CBC clarified that it is publicly funded through parliamentary appropriation and is not directly funded by the government. The broadcaster also stated that its journalism is impartial and independent, and suggested that the labeling was inaccurate. On Monday, CBC announced that it would pause its activities on Twitter in protest.
However, Elon Musk, known for his active presence on Twitter, responded to the issue by asking if CBC would be okay with the label “70% govt funded.” This sparked a back-and-forth exchange between Musk and CBC, with CBC reiterating its stance that it is not government funded but publicly funded.
The dispute also took a political turn as Pierre Poilievre, the Conservative rival of Prime Minister Trudeau, prodded Musk to label CBC as “government-funded” in a tweet last week. Poilievre has been campaigning to defund CBC and celebrated Musk’s tweet as an acknowledgment of CBC being “Trudeau propaganda, not news.” In response, Trudeau accused Poilievre of enlisting US billionaires to attack Canada’s public broadcaster, accusing him of undermining an important Canadian institution.
The Twitter feud comes on the heels of a similar controversy involving US broadcaster National Public Radio (NPR). Last week, NPR announced that it would no longer post content on its 52 official Twitter feeds in protest against a label by the social media platform that implies government involvement in its content.
The issue highlights the ongoing debate about the funding and independence of public broadcasters and the role of social media platforms in shaping public perception of news organizations. As the controversy continues to unfold on Twitter, it remains to be seen how it will impact CBC’s reputation and the broader discussions around media funding and independence in Canada.