CBC/Radio-Canada has paused activities on Twitter after a tag classifying it as “government-funded media” was added by the social media platform to one of its accounts, following a week where several other news outlets decried the classification for undermining their credibility and independence.

As of Tuesday (April 18), the tag only appeared on the main @CBC account. It has not yet been applied to @CBCNews, @CBCRadioCanada, breaking news account @CBCAlerts or accounts for CBC’s local markets.

The label was modified to “69% government-funded media” after the national public broadcaster announced Monday (April 17) that it would pause activities on the social media platform.

In a statement that was also posted to Twitter on Sunday evening, CBC pointed to Twitter’s own definition of government-funded media, classified as news outlets where the government “may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.”

CBC said there are several reasons why this isn’t true in its case. Firstly, CBC’s editorial independence is protected in law in the Broadcasting Act. Further, its funding is voted on and passed by all members of Parliament. In addition, CBC pointed to its own Journalistic Standards and Practices, as well as its independent ombudsman, as internal controls in place to ensure editorial independence.

On Sunday, CBC did not say whether it would suspend activities on the platform, as other news outlets labelled as “government-funded media” in the last week have. However, on Monday afternoon, a tweet from the @CBCRadioCanada account said it would go on pause.

“Our journalism is impartial and independent,” the tweet read. “To suggest otherwise is untrue. That is why we are pausing our activities on Twitter.”

Twitter has not responded to a request for comment as of press time.

Last week, U.S. public radio outlet NPR stated it would no longer be posting on Twitter after it had a “government-funded media” tag added to its profile. While NPR and similar outlets do receive government funds through grants and other sources, NPR expressed concern that the tag implied government control over its coverage, and undermined its credibility as an independent news source. A number of other public outlets in the U.S. have since followed suit after receiving the tag themselves, citing similar concerns.

In the U.K., the BBC also briefly had “government-funded media” added to its profile, though it was changed to “publicly funded media” after the broadcaster objected to the classification.

A version of this story appeared in Media in Canada

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