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PBS, the US public broadcaster, dropped Twitter after the social network added a label under its name describing it as “state-funded media.” It’s the second major news network to leave Twitter after NPR, the US public radio station, for the same reason. The same label was also recently attributed to British public broadcaster BBC, which fiercely challenged the decision but stayed on Twitter.
The disputes arise from the fact that, according to the newspapers involved, such a label would indicate their lack of independence and an alleged unreliability of their journalistic work. Originally, NPR was labeled “pro-state media,” the same definition used for state media in authoritarian regimes or non-democratic countries in general, such as Russia Today in Russia or Xinhua in China. The label was later changed to “government-funded,” but that wasn’t enough to convince NPR to stay on Twitter.
This new Twitter policy towards the labels, attributed to some reputable and authoritative Western media, is largely thanks to their owner, entrepreneur Elon Musk, who bought the social network in October and has been repeating the work of journalists in recent months and traditional media had criticized.
– Also read: The BBC has complained on Twitter about the “government-funded publication” label
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