Twitter removes 'government-funded' and 'China state-affiliated' labels from media accounts

Twitter has removed the "Government-funded" and "China state-affiliated" labels from the profiles of various media organizations globally. The labels, which implied government involvement in editorial content, were dropped on Friday, and Twitter no longer displays them on the accounts of US-based National Public Radio (NPR), the British Broadcasting Corp (BBC), the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC), and journalists associated with government-backed publications.

The accounts of Chinese publishers, including senior staff and key government officials, had been getting the "China state-affiliated media" tag since 2020, while the likes of NPR and CBC received the label only earlier this month. 

The labels caused NPR and CBC to stop posting on Twitter, arguing that the tags did not accurately capture their governance structure.

In a recent BBC interview, Twitter's billionaire owner Elon Musk stated that the social media platform was trying to be "accurate" and looking into amending the label. He said that their goal is to be "truthful and accurate as possible," and the label will be adjusted to "publicly funded," which he thinks is "perhaps not too objectionable."

The removal of the tag has not been commented on by Twitter, NPR, CBC, or BBC.

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