Musk labels BBC Twitter handle as ‘government-funded media’

Elon Musk's Twitter has not labelled the BBC's other accounts like BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News.

New Delhi: Twitter CEO Elon Musk has labelled the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) as a “government-funded media” organisation, as the broadcaster reached out to the micro-blogging platform for clarification.

After labelling the @BBC account — which has 2.2 million followers — Musk tweeted on Monday: “What does BBC stand for again? I keep forgetting.”

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“We need to add more granularity to editorial influence, as it varies greatly. I don’t actually think the BBC is as biased as some other government-funded media, but it is silly of the BBC to claim zero influence,” the Twitter CEO posted.

“Minor government influence in their case would be accurate,” he added.

However, Twitter has not labelled the BBC’s other accounts like BBC News (World) and BBC Breaking News.

The BBC said in a statement: “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.”

According to Musk, “I do actually follow the BBC” as “they have some great material.”

Musk earlier labelled American NPR network as “state-affiliated media”, erupting a controversy.

Following the backlash from NPR, it changed it to “government-funded media”, reported CNN.

NPR receives some funding from public institutions but the vast majority comes from sources such as corporate sponsorships and NPR membership fees.