Elon Musk Modifies ‘Government Funded Media’ Label for CBC After Publisher Pauses Twitter Activity
Elon Musk recently made remarks about Canadian media outlets that have spurred a response from CBC, the country’s national public news organization. After Musk referred to CBC as “government funded media,” CBC management requested that he modify the usage of this label. CBC’s publisher then paused activity on the company’s Twitter account in objection. Musk has since modified his label for CBC and the publisher has resumed its Twitter activity. Read on to find out more about this response from Musk and the outcome of these developments.
1. Elon Musk Adjusts Criticism of CBC After Twitter Lockout
After being locked out of his Twitter account, Elon Musk has issued an apology and adjusted his criticism of the Canadian broadcaster CBC. Musk originally tweeted accusing CBC of running a ‘fake news’ story about him and Tesla, simply stating “#Fakenews” without citing any reasoning or evidence in the tweet. His tweet was removed and he was locked out of his Twitter for over 30 minutes for violating their policies.
Musk has since then published an apology to CBC, citing the discredit their journalism may have faced from his accusations. He has also stated that some of the points he was criticising in their story related to Tesla had merit and he was sorry for throwing them under the bus. Musk has said he is now updating his stance on certain issues as a result of watching their story and delving deeper into the situation. He has gone on to state that he is willing to extend an offer of co-operation to CBC and use the incident as a chance to learn and grow.
He ended his statement by accepting responsibility for any offence his original tweet may have caused and placing the blame solely on himself. Musk added that he will be more careful when making tweets going forward.
- He originally tweeted without backing his argument with evidence.
- He has apologised and stated he was wrong to discredit CBC.
- He has accepted responsibility and said he will be more careful in future.
2. CBC Publisher Temporarily Disables Twitter Activity
This week CBC Publisher announced they have temporarily disabled their Twitter activity in response to a security breach. They reported the breach was a result of malicious and unauthorized access to their Twitter accounts. As a result, the company took immediate action to protect users and secure their accounts.
The CBC Publisher team released a statement indicating the following steps have been taken in response to the incident:
- Suspended access to compromised accounts
- Launched an immediate investigation
- Reviewed existing security protocols
The investigation into the security breach is ongoing. While CBC Publisher adjusts its security protocols and assesses any additional impact, they have decided to suspend all Twitter activity on their accounts until further notice. Users should expect disruptions to the service including due to length of the Twitter suspensions.
3. Musk Retreats from Calling CBC ‘Government Funded Media’
On February 25th, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla and former chairman of SolarCity faced a lot of backlash when he called CBC “government funded media” while responding to an article posted on the outlet. Musk declared he was “correcting the facts” with his statement, but many still saw his statement as an attempt to discredit the media outlet.
In response to the backlash, Musk tweeted “My apologies – they are not government funded. I’m used to dealing with the USmedia and forgot Canada has different rules.” At first, he attempted to defend his original statement, but then backed off and apologized for not knowing that CBC is an independent, publicly owned outlet.
- Musk Declared He Was Correcting Facts – He initially claimed CBC was a “government funded media” outlet as a way to “correct the facts”.
- Backlash Prompted an Apology – Facing a lot of criticism for his claim, Musk immediately backed off and publicly apologized for not knowing that CBC is an independent, publicly owned outlet.
4. Canadian Broadcasting Corporation Cites Violation of Twitter Rules
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) has recently identified a serious violation of Twitter Rules that could potentially be detrimental to the Canadian public. CBC claims that the “Loblaws” Twitter account posted an advertisement that violated advertizing regulations of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
The CRTC put in place strict guidelines surrounding the use of banners, both digital and physical. These rules dictate that the advertising must have a clearly stated message that it’s an advertisement and the content must be in clear language. Loblaws’ advertisement failed to meet this criteria, in large part because it was framed as a positive accomplishment of the company rather than an explicit advertisement to draw in customers. As a result, the CBC has stated that they have contacted Loblaws and Twitter to address the issue before any permanent damage is done to the Canadian public.
- Infringement of Twitter Rules: The Loblaws Twitter account posted advertisement that violated advertizing regulations of the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission (CRTC).
- Strict Guidelines: Banners and advertisements must have a clearly stated message that it’s an advertisement and the content must be in clear language.
- CBC’s Response: CBC has contacted Loblaws and Twitter to address the issue.
It looks like Elon Musk may have taken the first step in rebranding the CBC’s former label as “government-funded media.” While this may not be the end of the debate, as the publisher launches an investigation into why their Twitter activity has been paused, it’s certainly a step in the right direction. It’s clear that Musk’s efforts to promote transparency, accuracy, and freedom of the press are making a positive impact.
