Writing an article on Twitter – and Elon Musk – means taking the risk that it will be obsolete a few hours after its publication. Because since taking office at the head of the social network, the whimsical billionaire has changed his mind like his shirt. Latest about-face: the abandonment of the mention “media affiliated with the State”, this Friday, after several days of controversy.
At the beginning of February, Twitter had launched different badges to classify its users: the blue checkmark for a “certified” account for Twitter Blue subscribers, the gray checkmark for government bodies, the yellow checkmark for “official companies”, as well as mentions specific to the media. Three distinct labels had been created: “state-affiliated”, “government-funded” or “publicly funded” media.
Credibility questioned
But some public media, such as NPR (National Public Radio) in the United States, the BBC in the United Kingdom or even RTVE in Spain, had complained of being labeled “state-affiliated” media, a title leading to confusion between state media, such as Sputnik or Russia Today, and public information services, such as Radio France. And for good reason, according to Twitter, “state-affiliated media” was “defined as media whose editorial content is controlled by this state through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressure and/or control over production and distribution,” the site read.
An “unacceptable” endorsement for NPR CEO John Lansing: “NPR and its member stations (of its network) are supported by millions of listeners who depend on us for the independent, fact-based journalism we provide. NPR defends freedom of expression and holds the powerful accountable,” he protested in early April, indicating that the radio had taken the decision to stop tweeting in protest.
If American radio had won its case – Twitter changed its label to media “funded by a government” a few days later – it finally decided to leave the social network for good on April 12. “NPR’s accounts as an organization will no longer be active on Twitter as the platform takes actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent,” an announcement in a statement from National Public Radio, stating that only 1% of its operating budget comes from federal sources.
Cascading departures
And the NPR is not alone. Several of his counterparts, decked out with the mention “affiliated with the State”, have also decided to slam the door of the firm with the blue bird. This is the case of the public media group CBC/Radio-Canada, which announced its decision on April 17: “By questioning our independence by means of this false label intended to deceive the public, this network calls into question the accuracy and professionalism of the work done by our journalists,” the public media group CBC/Radio-Canada said in a statement on April 17, recalling that its “editorial independence” is protected by law, and that it is “funded out of public funds by means of a parliamentary appropriation voted by all members”.
The next day, April 18, it was the turn of Swedish public radio Sveriges Radio (SR) to end its activities on Twitter: “Sveriges Radio has for some time reduced the priority of its presence on Twitter and we have now made the decision to completely stop being active on the platform, as well as to delete a series of accounts,” the Nordic country’s most listened-to antenna group said on its blog.
This Friday, no label is present on media accounts, even if some have kept the yellow badge, synonymous with “official companies”. Russian or Chinese state media accounts, such as Russia Today (RT) or the official Chinese agency Xinhua (New China), which previously qualified as “state-affiliated” media, are also affected.
Radio France “will never pay”
On the French side, if Radio France did not have a yellow badge this Friday morning, the group recovered it at the start of the afternoon. On the side of France Télévisions, the yellow badge has still not returned, just like 20 minutes and most of our colleagues. The blue certification badges also disappeared this Friday and are now only reserved for subscribers who have subscribed to Twitter Blue.
At Radio France, the position is clear: the group “will never pay”, he said to 20 minutes. “You can’t buy credibility,” adds a source. However, the situation worries: “We discover it at the same time as everyone else. It changes every day, we don’t know what will happen tomorrow. There is a very great instability, it is a problem, ”continues Radio France. “If the algorithm highlights the accounts that pay, that will be a problem, particularly in terms of disinformation”, specifies a source from the group, affirming that discussions have started between the French and European public audiovisual media to find “a common position”.
Invited on the set of BFM, on April 12, the Minister Delegate in charge of the Digital Transition and Telecommunications, Jean-Noël Barrot, declared that these new categorisations constituted a form of “denigration” of the public media, implying that “their independence was not assured”. According to him, this new policy goes against the European Union’s Digital Services Regulation (DSA), dating from October 2022, which aims in particular to “strengthen the monitoring of very large platforms” and to “mitigate” the risks of information manipulation and misinformation.
Have the tags been permanently or temporarily removed? For the moment, Twitter has not given any details.