The ABC hit back after Twitter updated the public broadcaster’s social media page with the tag “government-funded media.”
The public broadcaster quickly tried to correct the mistake after the update involuntarily appeared on ABC News’ account on Monday.
“FYI: The ABC is a government-funded broadcaster, governed by the ABC charter enshrined in law,” the account tweeted.
“For more than 90 years, the ABC has always been and always will be an independent media organization, free from political and commercial interests.”
Twitter has added similar updates to the social media pages of various news outlets around the world to provide transparency about who is funding the organizations.
Social media users quickly jumped on the bandwagon, offering alternative and less appealing labels they wanted to add to ABC’s Twitter page.
The ABC lashed out after Twitter updated the public broadcaster’s social media page and added the tag “government-funded media” (photo, ABC investigative reporter Louise Milligan)
“It should say state controlled corrupt lying unreliable fake news left wing extremist media,” one wrote.
Another suggested, “Chronic InnerCity woke up clogged by green advocacy and political bias?”
A shorter suggestion was “forced taxpayer-funded propaganda,” while another chided Twitter that “they forgot to add the Leftist Bias component.”
Another had a more sympathetic image of the national broadcaster.
“Should read ABC backed by the coalition that has cut funding but still enjoys full support and loyalty,” it wrote.
Some felt that the descriptive labels should be extended to other media.
“When is Twitter going to start identifying media outlets owned by conservative, climate-denying billionaires?” Greens MP Adam Bandt wrote.
SBS, which is funded by a mix of government money and advertising revenue, has also expressed its displeasure with the “government-funded media” label.
Twitter says the new labels should provide more transparency about who funds accounts that provide news and commentary.
The other two labels are “state-affiliated media” and “government-funded media,” where the designation “government-funded” is applied when “the government provides some or all of the medium’s funding.”
Twitter goes on to say the label means “governments may have varying degrees of government involvement in editorial content.”
An ABC spokesperson said the broadcaster is “liaising with Twitter about changes to account verification and labels”.
Twitter’s new labels have upset other public broadcasters.
After initially labeling Britain’s BBC as “government-funded,” Twitter backed down and changed the description to “government-funded.”
“For example, I know that the BBC is not happy about being labeled a state media,” Twitter CEO Elon Musk said in an interview.
However, for US National Public Radio (NPR), which has a mix of public and private funding, Twitter has not changed the label that led to the station leaving the platform.
New Zealand’s Radio NZ also issued this threat after being labeled ‘government-funded media’.
Radio NZ Head of Content Megan Whelan said Twitter’s definition of the links open gave the false impression that the broadcaster was not fully independent.
“Twitter’s own policy defines government-funded media as instances where the government ‘may have varying degrees of government involvement in editorial content,’ which does not apply to RNZ,” she said.
An ABC spokesperson told the Australian on Wednesday that it would remain on the platform despite the involuntary update of its page.
Twitter owner Elon Musk says the social media platform’s new labels on new organizations provide context about where their funding comes from
“The ABC currently has no plans to close all of its Twitter accounts,” he said.
In February, the ABC closed accounts for some of its major news programs, such as ABC News Breakfast and Insiders.
A spokesperson denied this was due to trolling, saying it was to rationalize the broadcaster’s presence on Twitter under one main account.
“We are closing some ABC News program accounts and are consolidating our activity into our main Twitter account, @abcnews, which has by far the most activity, following and audience engagement,” a spokesperson said.
“This is a better use of resources while still serving the public on this platform.”
An ABC spokesperson declined to comment further on the matter when Daily Mail Australia contacted him.