The Conversation (0)
Liam O'Dell
Apr 09, 2023
Elon Musk apologizes after mocking laid-off, disabled Twitter employee
content.jwplatform.com
If Elon Musk deciding to temporarily turn Twitter’s logo into the doge meme, set up a poop emoji auto-reply for the company’s press email, and hide the ‘w’ on the sign outside its San Francisco headquarters didn’t tell you the CEO is absolutely clueless, then one of his latest decisions as boss of the platform certainly does.
While Musk continues to ponder exactly what to do with ‘legacy’ verified accounts and paid subscribers to Twitter Blue, he’s been undermining international news organisations like a true “free speech absolutist”.
He’s already removed a verified tick from The New York Times (meaning there’s nothing to suggest @nytimes is the legitimate handle for the outlet, when it very much is), and decided to slap a label on NPR’s account claiming it’s “government funded media” (when it very much isn’t).
Now, in yet another demonstration of Musk’s understanding of how specific journalistic organisations are funded, the Tesla founder has decided to apply the same “government funded media” label to the BBC.
Yes, really.
“State-affiliated media is defined as outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution,” reads Twitter’s description for state-affiliated media.
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While some might consider the recent furore over Gary Lineker and Match of the Day to be a pretty good example of exercising “control over editorial content through … direct or indirect political pressures”, political impartiality is kind of the BBC’s thing (it’s pretty much what got Lineker in trouble in the first place).
Also, the label Twitter has decided to place on the BBC account is a bit more specific in claiming it is funded by the government, which is incorrect.
As the BBC’s webpage on the licence fee and funding makes clear, “the BBC is primarily funded by the licence fee [paid by UK taxpayers], supplemented by income from our commercial subsidiaries [like BBC Studios]”.
The UK Government did provide £20 million to the BBC World Service in March, but as pointed out by Deadline journalist Jake Kanter, that’s not the Twitter account which has been labelled “government funded” here.
The move by Twitter has been criticised as “troubling” and “triggering” by users of the platform:
\u201cTroubling! \nSo dangerous that @elonmusk designated independent media outlets like @BBC and @NPR as government funded media outlet & equating with Russia and China\u2019s state owned media outlets. Bc of these media outlets the world learns about oppression in far corners of the world.\u201d— Rayhan E. Asat (@Rayhan E. Asat) 1681026144
\u201cHi @elonmusk - calling the BBC government-funded is triggering to Brits - it\u2019s wrong and undermines an important division of media v state. It\u2019s publicly fund but the money doesn\u2019t go via the government. It\u2019s a big point pf principle here. Please could you fix it? Thank you.\u201d— Leo Kelion (@Leo Kelion) 1681044135
\u201cHi @elonmusk.\n\nThe @BBC is not funded by the UK government. \n\nIt is funded by the British public through a system known as the licence fee.\n\nThe BBC's operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government\u201d— Jake Kanter (@Jake Kanter) 1680995122
\u201c. @BBC, one of the world's top public service broadcasters, now has a "government funded" label. But, BBC is funded by a license fee + their editorial & operations are separate from gov. \n\n@elonmusk fails to grasp the basic difference between state media & public media\u201d— Patrick McCurdy (@Patrick McCurdy) 1681042985
\u201cWhat is this, Elon Musk? \n\nThe BBC is not government funded. \n\nIt is funded by the British public through a system known as the licence fee. Entirely different.\u201d— Annette Dittert (@Annette Dittert) 1681021545
Although, others have sought to defend and justify the decision:
\u201cThat's just silly, pedantic, nonsensical word-diddling. The BBC is not just state-funded media, it's outright propaganda and always has been. The real problem is that it's been granted a special new label, "Government Funded", while outlets like RT are still "state-affiliated".\u201d— Caitlin Johnstone (@Caitlin Johnstone) 1680999709
\u201cUK government not only collects BBC funding but criminalises its non-customers and prosecutes them at the rate of 1,000 a week\n\nI\u2019m not sure that the (in my view brilliant) BBC is best served by the state funding model. But hard to deny that it is state funded.\u201d— Fraser Nelson (@Fraser Nelson) 1681028973
\u201cI have no faith in Twitter's system for labelling media, but the BBC is surely "UK government funded"? Yes, it gets money from the license fee not general taxation, but it collects it via state-enforced laws and the government determines how much it gets & on what terms.\u201d— Michael Walker (@Michael Walker) 1681044324
\u201cI've always viewed this insistence by many Brits that the BBC is not state funded to be weird and deranged. If you own a TV in the UK you have to pay for the loicense, there's no rights to opt out. Editorial independence or lack thereof is a separate issue that's not germane.\u201d— Anatoly Karlin (@Anatoly Karlin) 1681031513
\u201c@Jake_Kanter @elonmusk @BBC The BBC is funded by a propaganda tax enforced by the threat of prison should people not pay it.\n\nIt's not "government funded" - it's British state media using a loophole to get around being correctly labelled.\u201d— Jake Kanter (@Jake Kanter) 1680995122
\u201cJust in case you were not convinced that the BBC & @BBCNews are impartial, take a look at what Twitter's conclusion is: 'Government Funded Media'.\n\nThere you have it, 'State Broadcaster' in all but name. Well, TV licence fees aside, of course.\u201d— Dr Rob Palmer (@Dr Rob Palmer) 1681035895
\u201cJust in case you were not convinced that the BBC & @BBCNews are impartial, take a look at what Twitter's conclusion is: 'Government Funded Media'.\n\nThere you have it, 'State Broadcaster' in all but name. Well, TV licence fees aside, of course.\u201d— Dr Rob Palmer (@Dr Rob Palmer) 1681035895
In a statement issued to indy100, a BBC spokesperson said: "We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The BBC is, and always has been, independent.
"We are funded by the British public through the licence fee."
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