Elon Musk risks row with the BBC by labelling the British broadcaster ‘government-funded media’ on Twitter
- Elon Musk’s Twitter has labelled the BBC as ‘government-funded media’
- The BBC is funded by the British public, who pay a £159-a-year licence fee
Elon Musk has risked a row with the BBC by labelling it as ‘government-funded media’ on Twitter.
The Corporation is mainly funded by British taxpayers, who pay a £159-a-year licence fee.
Although the government sets how much the licence fee is, not everyone has to pay it, and households pay directly.
When someone clicks on the BBC’s new label, it brings them to a page about government accounts and state-affiliated media accounts. Twitter described state-affiliated media accounts as: ‘Outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution.’
The page does not include a definition for its ‘government-funded media’ label.
Elon Musk has risked a row with the BBC by labelling it as ‘government-funded media’ on Twitter (pictured)
Since Elon Musk, 51, (pictured) bought Twitter last October he has fired top executives, started layoffs aiming to cut the company’s 7,500 staff by around a half, and has also allowed people to buy blue ticks
Although the government sets how much the licence fee is, not everyone has to pay it and households pay directly. Pictured: BBC offices of Broadcasting House
A BBC spokesperson said: ‘We are speaking to Twitter to resolve this issue as soon as possible. The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee.’
Musk, 51, has cut down on the social media company’s communications department in the last few weeks, and since March the press email has automatically replied with a poo emoji, as it did today when MailOnline approached Twitter for comment.
Since Musk bought Twitter last October he has fired top executives, started layoffs aiming to cut the company’s 7,500 staff by around a half, and has also allowed people to buy blue ticks.
Last week, Musk was dethroned from the top spot of Forbes’ annual billionaire list following his decision to purchase Twitter for $44billion.
He had earned the number one spot on Forbes World Billionaires list last year, when he had an estimated net worth of $216billion, overthrowing Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
Musk is now the second richest billionaire in the world, falling to Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH — which owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co.
Tesla founder Elon Musk lost the top spot on Forbes’ annual list of billionaires due to his $44billion purchase of Twitter. He was superseded by Frenchman Bernard Arnault, the chairman of French luxury goods giant LVMH — which owns brands like Louis Vuitton, Christian Dior and Tiffany & Co.
The two had been trading places on the outlet’s daily Real-Time Billionaires list over the past few months, CNN reports, but Arnault was able to supersede Musk in the annual list after his net worth grew more than $50billion to $211billion.
At the same time, Musk’s net worth fell to just $180billion — $39billion less than it was last year, according to Forbes’ calculations.
The outlet explains that Musk’s standing plummeted after he purchased Twitter for $44billion — funded by Tesla shares.
Investors in the electric car giant worried at the time about its share value plummeting as Musk took over the social media giant.
Tesla eventually gained back much of its losses, but is still selling at about half of what it was before Musk took over Twitter in October.
‘Musk has mostly tweeted himself out of the top spot on the ranks,’ Forbes writes, apparently referring to his controversial tweets about Twitter’s actual value and subsequent decisions to change the company.
He was able to keep much of his wealth, however, as SpaceX valuation increased from $13billion to $140billion in just the past year.
Still, that proved to not be enough to compete with Arnault, 74, who had a ‘banner year’ in 2022 due to record-high profits at his conglomerate.
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