Factbox-Broadcasters go silent on Twitter after 'government-funded' label

FILE PHOTO: A keyboard is placed in front of a displayed Twitter logo in this illustration taken February 21, 2023. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo/File Photo

(Reuters) - Public broadcasters ranging from U.S.-based National Public Radio to Canadian Broadcasting Corp have stopped posting on Twitter in recent days after the Elon Musk-owned social media platform labeled their accounts as "government-funded".

The broadcasters have said the label does not accurately capture their governance structure as there is a clear difference between those that receive public funding but are editorially independent, and those that are run by governments.

Musk, meanwhile, has said Twitter's goal is to be as "truthful and accurate as possible".

Here is a list of the broadcasters and other media outlets that have stopped using Twitter:

** National Public Radio (NPR)

NPR said last week it would no longer post fresh content to its 52 official Twitter feeds in protest against a label by the social media platform that implies government involvement in its editorial content.

** Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

CBC said on Monday it would pause its use of Twitter after the platform labeled it as "69% government-funded media".

The Twitter label on the CBC account previously showed "70% government-funded media", but was changed to the current one after the CBC asked Twitter to re-examine the designation.

** Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

PBS, which has around 2.2 million followers on Twitter, halted publishing on Twitter after it was labeled as "government-funded media", according to media reports.

** Hawaii Public Radio

Hawaii Public Radio, a member station of NPR, said it would stop sharing its content on Twitter after the micro-blogging site labeled NPR's Twitter handle as "government-funded media".

NPR's member stations pay the broadcaster a membership fee to use its programming and content.

** LAist

LAist, a Los Angeles-based news outlet, said it would no longer post on its Twitter accounts in support of NPR.

(Reporting by Tiyashi Datta, Chavi Mehta and Jaspreet Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar)