Musk clashes with BBC reporter for 'Lying' about Twitter 'hate speech'

A row between social media giant, Twitter, and the British broadcaster, the BBC, erupted this week after the UK state channel was branded 'government funded media” on its main Twitter page.

The move was initially defended by the owner of Twitter, billionaire Elon Musk, who even mocked the branding with a series of tweets.

Later, Musk claims that all media is biased, but that he believed the BBC was among the least biased.

• Sparks fly as BBC objects to Twitter state-funded designation.
  

  Sparks fly as BBC objects to Twitter state-funded designation

  A row erupts between the British state backed broadcaster the BBC and social media giant Twitter over the BBC

The UK state broadcaster objected to Musk's decision and contacted Twitter directly.

On Wednesday, a BBC journalist, James Clayton, challenged Musk during an interview; however, the talk didn't go as planned.

Musk: But I say sir that you don't know what you're talking about.

BBC: Really?

Musk: Yes, because you can't give a single example of hateful content, not even one tweet. And yet you claimed the hateful content was high. Well, that's a false

BBC: No.  What I claim was, there are many organizations that say that that kind of information is on the rise now. Whether it has...

Musk: Does the BBC hold itself at all responsible for misinformation regarding masking and side effects of vaccinations, and not reporting on that at all? And what about the fact that the BBC was put under pressure by the British government to change the editorial policy? Are you aware of that?

BBC: This is not an interview about the BBC,...

Musk: ... you thought it wasn't

• ·Social media platforms censor content at behest of US government
  

  Social media platforms censor content at behest of US government

  Twitter CEO Elon Musk has accused the US government of pushing all social media platforms to work with the US government to censor content.

Before Musk took over Twitter, the site had long been branding news channels and their journalists as state affiliated, but only applied these rules to media from countries at odds with the West, Iran, Russia and China being the main focus.

The designations would often be accompanied by shadow bans or total page closures.

Former British lawmaker and TV presenter Chris Williamson was one of those affected by Twitter's censorship.

I think it was quite ironic, frankly, that the BBC is objecting to the label when it's very obvious that they are a government funded institution, and indeed, have really been a mouthpiece, particularly in relation to foreign policy, they've been a mouthpiece for Western policy, for NATO.

They have a license fee which is collected from every household that has a TV license, but that's done under the auspices of the government and is actually collected by the government and then transferred to the BBC.  I think if Twitter are going to label accounts, then then it's appropriate that they label all accounts.

Former British lawmaker and TV presenter, Chris Williamson

• ·Twitter propaganda tool of US Central Command
  

  Twitter propaganda tool of US Central Command

  An investigation has shed light on the complicity of social media giant Twitter in the propaganda of the US military in the West Asia region.

Despite Elon Musk's criticism of mainstream media, he has agreed to what appears to be a compromise, and will reword the wording of the designation to public funded instead.

This clearly suggests that Western mainstream media will never likely receive the same treatment by the social media platform as their Eastern counterparts.

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  Ex-England soccer captain banned from BBC after comparing UK government to Nazis

  Former England soccer captain Gary Lineker has been taken off the air by the BBC after criticizing the British government’s new asylum policy.

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