Journalist Jake Kanter called out Twitter owner Elon Musk after the platform labeled the BBC as a government funded media outlet.
The British Broadcasting Corporation, more commonly known as BBC, is currently labeled as “Government Funded Media” on Twitter.
But Kanter pushed back on the title in a story published Sunday, arguing that while the BBC does benefit from a “license fee” that is partially set by the U.K. government, that is not the same as being “funded by the UK government.”
“The BBC is not funded by the UK government. It is funded by the British public, through a system known as the licence fee,” he said, adding that the BBC’s “operations and editorial decision-making are entirely independent of the government.”
TWITTER REMOVES NPR’S ‘STATE-AFFILIATED’ DESIGNATION, REPLACES IT WITH ‘GOVERNMENT FUNDED’ LABEL
Kanter also provided a comment from the BBC: “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.”
When contacted for comment, Twitter automatically responded with a poop emoji.
Musk also sparked debate online after Twitter temporarily labeled National Public Radio (NPR) “US state-affiliated media.”
NPR LABELED ‘STATE-AFFILIATED MEDIA’ ON TWITTER, SAME AS RUSSIA’S RT AND CHINA’S XINHUA
The designation of “state-affiliated media” has typically applied to state-run media outlets in foreign autocracies, like Russia’s RT and China’s Xinhua. NPR itself has fiercely denied the label, which now appears to its over 8.8 million followers on Twitter.
NPR President John Lansing said that he was “disturbed” to see the title in a Twitter post on April 5.
“NPR and our member stations are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide,” Lansing wrote at the time.
The debate reached the national stage after White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre defended NPR as an unbiased news source.
“There’s no doubt of the independence of NPR’s journalists,” Jean-Pierre said.
“If you’ve ever been on the receiving end of their questions you know that they have their independence in journalism,” she continued. “NPR journalists work digitally to hold public officials accountable and inform the American people.”
“The hard-hitting independence nature of their coverage speaks for itself,” Jean-Pierre added.
NPR’s current designation reflects that it is “Government Funded Media,” not a “US state-affiliated media” source on Twitter.
Community Notes, a Twitter project that allows users to “collaboratively add context to potentially misleading Tweets,” fact-checked Kanter’s claims in real time.
“The BBC is principally funded through a licence fee paid by UK households; the amount is set by the government in a periodic ‘licence fee settlement,’” it said. “As with any government imposed tax, it’s government mandated. UK government is currently reviewing this arrangement.”
Fox News Digital has reached out to the BBC for comment.
