Less than a week after Twitter quit NPR, America’s public radio and first major media outlet to leave the social network in protest at Elon Musk’s new network policies, similar decisions have been made in Canada and in Sweden. Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) announced on Tuesday, April 18, the end of its activities on Twitter. The day before, the public media group CBC / Radio-Canada had made the same decision. “Sveriges Radio has for some time deprioritized its presence on Twitter and we have now made the decision to stop being active on the platform altogether, as well as removing a series of accounts,” said on his blog the most listened to group of antennas in the Nordic country.
All are reacting to the new label attributed by billionaire Elon Musk, that of “state-affiliated media” which threatens their image of independence. They fear that the public will be led to believe that it is a propaganda organ even though the NPR, for example, receives only 1% of its budget from the American State. “By questioning our independence with this false label aimed at misleading the public, this network calls into question the accuracy and professionalism of the work carried out by our journalists”, lamented the public media group CBC / Radio. -Canada in a press release.
The group recalls that its “editorial independence” is protected by law, and that it is “financed by public funds by means of a parliamentary appropriation voted by all deputies”. CBC/Radio-Canada encouraged Canadians to follow them on other social networks, Facebook and Instagram.
A controversial certification policy
Known and respected in the United States, where it claims 46 million listeners and readers per week on its stations, podcasts and websites, National Public Radio has announced that its “accounts (…) will no longer be active on Twitter,” accusing the network of taking actions that “undermine our credibility.” A spokeswoman said journalists and its member stations “can decide for themselves if they want to stay on the platform.”
These departures come against the background of the establishment of a new controversial certification policy, Twitter granting from April 20 its famous blue tick to those who will pay to take advantage of it. At the beginning of the month, it thus removed this tick from the main account of the American daily The New York Times (55 million subscribers), in another gesture of defiance towards a respected media but considered too left by some of the conservatives.
The billionaire entrepreneur readily shows contempt for the media. In recent times, questions sent by the press to the communication service of Twitter are automatically sent an emoticon in the shape of… a turd. Since he bought the firm from the blue bird, Elon Musk has also relaxed the moderation of content on the network, letting back many users banned because of messages inciting hatred or falling under misinformation.
In France, some media accounts such as France Télévisions, Radio France and France Médias Monde do display the mention “publicly funded media”. Others, such as France Inter, France Info or even France 2, have surprisingly escaped the label.
