The BBC is, and always has been, independent
In a statement released in the wake of the "government-funded media" designation, the broadcaster said, "The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee." The label links to a page on Twitter’s help centre which says "state-affiliated media" are outlets where the government "exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution". The BBC has always maintained its impartiality and operates through a Royal Charter agreed with the government, which says it "must be independent".
Twitter to remove legacy blue ticks
Elsewhere in the interview, Musk revealed that legacy blue ticks will finally be removed by next week. Musk had previously announced that legacy-verified Twitter users would see their blue ticks removed from the service on April 1, unless they paid a monthly fee of $8 (£6.40) to its Twitter Blue subscription operation. As a result, thousands of the platform's high-profile users were braced to lose the ticks, which can help verify their identity and distinguish them from imposters.
Twitter is "roughly breaking even"
Musk also revealed that Twitter is "roughly breaking even" as "most" of the site's advertisers have returned. Following his $44bn (£38bn) takeover of the platform in October, many advertisers paused work with the site over concerns about Musk's approach to content and moderation. "You can see (the increased advertising) for yourself on Twitter," Musk said. "I think almost all of them (who left) have either come back or said they were going to come back. There's very few exceptions. Depending on how things go, if current trends continue, we could be... cash flow positive this quarter if things keep going well."
Impartiality of the BBC
The BBC has always maintained its impartiality, which is a core principle of its journalism. The broadcaster is funded by the British public through an annual licence fee of £159 per household. While the BBC account, which has 2.2 million followers, has been given the "government-funded media" label, much larger accounts associated with the corporation's breaking news and sport output are not being described in the same way. The account mainly tweets about BBC-produced TV programmes, radio shows, podcasts and other non-news material.
Conclusion
Elon Musk, owner of Twitter, has announced that the social media site will update the BBC's "government-funded media" tag after the broadcaster objected to the label. The BBC, which maintains its impartiality and operates through a Royal Charter agreed with the government, said in a statement that it is funded by the British public through the licence fee. The broadcaster is concerned that the "government-funded media" tag could undermine its impartiality. In addition, Musk also revealed that legacy blue ticks will finally be removed by next week and that Twitter is "roughly breaking even" as most advertisers have returned to the site.
