Elon Musk defends labelling BBC ‘government-funded media’ on Twitter: ‘All organisations have bias’

Elon Musk has defended on Twitter for calling the BBC ‘government-funded media’.

The billionaire founder of Tesla and SpaceX, who also owns the social media platform, confirmed the label on the company’s official account on the website.

But while he claimed that “all organizations have biases,” he said he still follows the BBC because he thinks it is ‘one of the least prejudiced’.

The BBC has always maintained its impartiality and operates under a royal charter agreed with the government, which states that it must ‘be independent’.

The broadcaster objected to Musk’s decision and contacted Twitter after adding the designation ‘government-funded media’ to the @BBC account.

In response to the complaint, Musk asked, “Is the Twitter label correct?”

He later emailed the BBC directly, writing: ‘We aim for maximum transparency and accuracy. Linking to ownership and funding source probably makes sense.

‘I do think that media organizations should be self-aware and not falsely claim that there are no prejudices. All organizations have prejudices, some much more than others of course.’

The broadcaster objected to being labeled as such (pictured, titled ‘Government Funded Media’) and contacted Twitter after the designation was added to the main @BBC account

He continued: ‘I have to bear in mind that I follow BBC news on Twitter as I think it’s one of the least biased.’

Britons pay a license fee of £159 each year to fund the company’s output, which is set by the government but paid for by individual households.

The broadcaster said it spoke to Twitter about the appointment, adding: ‘The BBC is independent and always has been. We are funded by the British public through the license fee.’

The label on the BBC’s official account directs users to a page in Twitter’s help center that states that “state-affiliated media” are outlets where the government “exerts control over editorial content through financial means, direct or indirect political pressure and/or control over production and distribution’.

While the BBC account, which has 2.2 million followers, has been labeled, much larger accounts related to the company’s breaking news and sports output are not currently described in the same way.

The label “state-affiliated media” was also applied to the Twitter account of US broadcaster NPR, but has since been changed to “government-funded media” – the same as the BBC account.

The BBC account mainly tweets about BBC produced TV shows, radio shows, podcasts and other non-news material.

The 51-year-old Musk has scaled back the activities of the social media company’s communications department in recent weeks. Since March, the press department email address has been auto-replyed with a poop emoji, as happened today when MailOnline reached out to Twitter for comment.

Since Musk bought Twitter in October, he has fired and fired top executives with the aim of cutting the company’s 7,500 employees by about half, while also allowing people to buy blue checks that verify their accounts.

Musk was recently dethroned from the top spot on Forbes’ annual billionaire list following his decision to buy Twitter for $44 billion.

He earned the number one spot on the Forbes World Billionaires list last year when he had an estimated net worth of $216 billion, toppling Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.

Musk is now the second richest billionaire in the world, behind Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH – which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co.

The two had traded places on the list in recent months, CNN reports, but Arnault was able to replace Musk after his net worth grew by more than $50 billion to $211 billion.

The broadcaster said it spoke to Twitter about the appointment, adding: ‘The BBC is independent and always has been. We are funded by the British public through the license fee’

Since Musk bought Twitter in October, he has fired and fired top executives to cut the company’s workforce by about half.

At the same time, Musk’s net worth fell to $180 billion — $39 billion less than last year, according to Forbes‘s calculations.

Forbes explains that Musk’s position plummeted after he bought Twitter for $44 billion – funded by Tesla stock.

Investors in the electric car giant were concerned at the time about the stock’s fall in value when Musk acquired the social media giant.

Tesla eventually recouped many of its losses, but is still selling for about half of what it was before Musk took over Twitter in October.

Musk was able to keep much of his wealth as the valuation of SpaceX rose from $13 billion to $140 billion in the past year alone.

Yet that proved not enough to compete with the 74-year-old Arnault, who had a ‘banner year’ in 2022 due to record high profits at his conglomerate.