Elon Musk has risked a fallout with the BBC by labeling it “government-funded media” on Twitter.
The Corporation is funded primarily by British taxpayers, who pay a license fee of £159 per annum.
Although the government determines how much the license fee is, not everyone has to pay it and households pay directly.
When someone clicks on the BBC’s new label, it takes them to a page on government accounts and state-affiliated media accounts. Twitter described state-affiliated media accounts as: “Outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial means, direct or indirect political pressure, and/or control over production and distribution.”
The page does not contain a definition for the label “government-funded media.”
Elon Musk has risked a fight with the BBC by labeling it as ‘government-funded media’ on Twitter (pictured)
Since 51-year-old Elon Musk (pictured) bought Twitter last October, he’s fired top executives, laid off to cut the company’s workforce by about half, and also allowed people to buy blue checks
Although the government determines how much the license fee is, not everyone has to pay it and households pay directly. Pictured: Broadcasting House BBC offices
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We are talking to Twitter to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. The BBC is and has always been independent. We are funded by the British public through the license fee.’
The 51-year-old Musk has cut back on the social media company’s communications department in recent weeks, and since March press emails have been auto-answered with a poop emoji, as happened today when MailOnline reached out to Twitter for comment.
Since Musk bought Twitter last October, he’s fired top executives, fired them to cut the company’s 7,500 workforce by about half, and also allowed people to buy blue ticks.
Last week, Musk was dethroned from the top spot on Forbes’ annual billionaires list after his decision to buy Twitter for $44 billion.
He had 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, under Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH – which owns brands such as Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co.
Tesla founder Elon Musk lost the top spot on the annual Forbes list of billionaires due to his purchase of Twitter for $44 billion. He was succeeded by Frenchman 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 on the outlet’s daily Real-Time Billionaires list in recent months, CNN reports, but Arnault was able to replace Musk on the annual list after his net worth grew by more than $50 billion to $211 billion.
At the same time, Musk’s net worth fell to just $180 billion — $39 billion less than last year, according to Forbescalculations.
The outlet 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 has largely tweeted himself from the top of the ranks,” writes Forbes, apparently referring to his controversial tweets about the true value of Twitter and subsequent decisions to switch companies.
However, he was able to keep much of his wealth as SpaceX’s valuation rose from $13 billion to $140 billion in the past year.
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.