CBC resumes activity on some of its Twitter accounts after hitting pause over labels

The CBC logo is projected onto a screen in Toronto on May 29, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Tijana Martin

The CBC and Radio-Canada are returning to Twitter after pausing activity last month over their designation as "government-funded media" by the social media platform.

CBC News editor-in-chief Brodie Fenlon says in a blog post that it is resuming activity on a handful of umbrella accounts but will "significantly reduce" its overall Twitter footprint.

In April, Twitter CEO Elon Musk applied tags to accounts belonging to the CBC and other outlets, including the BBC and National Public Radio, labelling them as "government-funded media."

The tags had their wording changed multiple times without warning or explanation, before ultimately disappearing.

The CBC has said it does not meet Twitter's definition of "government-funded media" and that its editorial independence is enshrined in the Broadcasting Act.

Fenlon says the CBC will continue to assess Twitter against its social media strategy.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published May 9, 2023.