Twitter quietly removes state-affiliated and government-funded labels from media accounts, following disputes with news organizations. Accounts for outlets such as the BBC, Global Times, and RT are no longer labeled as government-funded media
The labels were previously applied to various accounts, including the BBC, CBC, and NPR, leading to objections from some outlets.
CEO Elon Musk defended the tags, saying they were intended to be accurate, but some designations were changed after criticism.
As of Friday, no labels were visible on any of the mentioned accounts or those associated with them. Previously, the state-affiliated media tag had been mostly used for non-Western outlets before Musk’s takeover of Twitter.
In addition to this, the platform has removed all legacy blue check marks and introduced Twitter Blue, a subscription service that provides verified accounts for a fee. A gold verification badge is also available for businesses at a higher price point.
