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After pausing Twitter activity in mid-April because their disagreement with Elon Musk, The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation has resumed posting.
In mid-April, the Canadian news network condemned Twitter for labeling their organization as "Government-funded media."
CBC spokesman Leon Mar said in a statement that it "undermines the accuracy and professionalism of the work they do to allow our independence to be falsely described in this way." He added further, "Consequently, we will be pausing our activity on our corporate Twitter account and all CBC and Radio-Canada news-related accounts."
TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA - 2020/06/12: Canadian National flag waving on a clear sunny day. (Photo by Roberto Machado Noa/LightRocket via Getty Images)
After CBC contested the designation, Twitter changed the label to say the platform was "69% Government-funded media." In the following weeks however, Twitter overhauled its blue check system and removed government funded media labels altogether.
CBC has since released a statement declaring that the organization will "resume some activity on a handful of Twitter accounts."
Musk responded to the news by posting an image referencing the 2005 forbidden romance drama "Brokeback Mountain," representing CBC as one of the characters saying "I wish I knew how to quit you."
CBC Editor in chief Brodie Fenlon shared an editorial called "The threats to press freedom in Canada and the world," which lamented "deepening political polarization" as well as "disinformation" and "hate speech."
Fenlon took issue with how "Twitter's posted definition of ‘government-funded’ referred to outlets that ‘may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content,’" noting that "Musk has on several occasions linked government funding to state influence and media bias."
Elon Musk's leadership has been a radical overhaul of many of Twitter's policies, from verification to content management. (Fox News)
"No government has involvement or influence on the journalism of CBC News and Radio-Canada Info, our French-language service," he added.
Fenlon outlined CBC’s strategy going forward.
"Our focus remains on social platforms that prioritize healthy communities and or provide us better opportunities to grow new audiences," he wrote. "Today, we will resume some activity on a handful of umbrella Twitter accounts, including @CBCNews, but we will significantly reduce our overall Twitter footprint and continue to assess the platform against our strategy.
oronto, Canada - June 19, 2018: Canadian Broadcasting Centre (CBC) in Toronto. CBC is the broadcast headquarters for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation's television and radio services. (iStock)
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He went on to praise journalists for protecting "democracies" around the world.
"Despite many challenges from inside and outside Canada, CBC's commitment to independent, fact-based journalism is steadfast," Fenlon wrote. "Democracies live or die by the health of their independent news media; freedom and a free press are mutually dependent."
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