CBC Throws a Fit Over Twitter Label

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TORONTO (ChurchMilitant.com) - The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation is stepping away from Twitter after being labeled "government-funded media" by Twitter's CEO, Elon Musk.

The organization announced the move on Monday, pausing activity on all its accounts after asking Twitter to re-examine the characterization.

Spokesman Leon Mar commented, "Twitter can be a powerful tool for our journalists to communicate with Canadians, but it undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way."

Last Week, Conservative Party leader Pierre Poilievre tweeted, "We must protect Canadians against disinformation and manipulation by state media. That is why I'm asking @Twitter @elonmusk to accurately label CBC as 'government-funded media.' It is a fact. And Canadians deserve the facts."

Self-described Catholic Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Poilievre of seeking out Musk's help to undermine the Canadian organization. 

"Attacking this Canadian institution, attacking the culture and local content that is so important to so many Canadians, really indicates the values and the approach that Mr. Poilievre is putting forward," Trudeau declared. "In order to attack this institution that is important for many, many Canadians, he runs to American billionaires, the tech giants that they continue to defend."

According to CBC's own 2021–2022 annual report, it received over $1.2 billion — the majority of its funding — from the Canadian government.

Critics claim the leftist Canadian government has relied on the news source to push its propaganda on the country's citizens.

Progressive control of the media, not just in Canada but also in the United States, has led not only to misinformation but also censorship of the truth.

The media played a large role in the so-called COVID pandemic and its hysteria and acted as champion for draconian vaccine mandates. The censorship of the Hunter Biden laptop story and the promulgation of the false Jan. 6 narrative are other examples of its meddling.

The "Twitter files" provided damning evidence the U.S. government has worked with media outlets to hide different types of information from the public.

Commenters are questioning why, if the government is reputable and serving the best interests of the people, media organizations would be upset about public disclosure of their funding source. 

CBC joins the likes of National Public Radio, Public Broadcasting Service and Swedish Radio to quit the social media platform over Musk's tagging of the organizations. 

In a poll released by Gallup and Knight Foundation in February, Americans were asked to respond to the statement, "In general, most national news organizations do not intend to mislead, misinform, or persuade the public." Fifty percent of respondents disagreed with the statement, while only twenty-five percent thought it was true. 

This jibes with an October 2022 Gallup poll that posed the question, "In general, how much trust and confidence do you have in the mass media — such as newspapers, TV and radio — when it comes to reporting the news fully, accurately and fairly?" Only 34% reported having a great deal/fair amount of trust. Thirty-eight percent confided they had no trust at all.

Last November, Musk suggested how Twitter would help combat the false narratives of the mainstream media: "As Twitter pursues the goal of elevating citizen journalism, media elite will try everything to stop that from happening."

He added, "Mainstream media will still thrive, but increased competition from citizens will cause them to be more accurate, as their oligopoly on information is disrupted."

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