It appears that the recent debacle by Elon Musk in relation to slapping the “Government Funded Media” tag on several western media outlets Twitter accounts was all a ruse. As of yesterday, Twitter has dropped such labeling – and has also done so for tags such as “China state-affiliated media.”
The dropping of the label was highlighted yesterday by Twitter user @MrSeanHaines, whom identified several accounts where the China-affiliated label had seemingly been dropped. Unsurprisingly, several of the accounts with such labels had recently appealed to Musk to have the designation eliminated.
The media-affiliation badges have evidently been removed on all accounts, including that of CBC News, NPR, Russia Today, and more. The change comes just days after Canada’s Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre took a victory lap on the platform after successfully lobbying for CBC to have such a designation applied to it.
In the Western world, the recent application of such labels on media organizations was deemed offensive, with CBC declaring this week that it would no longer be utilizing the platform as a result of the label. South of the border, NPR also recently indicated that it would be walking away from the platform after getting the label affixed to its account.
Several Twitter users meanwhile are viewing the recent events as a ruse to enable Musk to quietly remove any such “state-affiliated” label from the platform to appease officials in China.
Coincidentally, the changes also occurred on the same day that legacy verified users finally lost their blue checkmark as Musk looks to level the playing field on the platform. The change, originally set to be implemented on April 1, was delayed after pushback from users on the platform.
Information for this briefing was found via Twitter, The New York Times, and the sources and companies mentioned. The author has no securities or affiliations related to the organizations discussed. Not a recommendation to buy or sell. Always do additional research and consult a professional before purchasing a security. The author holds no licenses.
