The ABC News account on Twitter has received a new label branding the broadcaster as “Government-funded Media”.

The label, according to Twitter, provides additional context for accounts heavily engaged in politics and diplomacy.

An ABC spokesperson said they were cooperating with Twitter in regards to the update.

“We’re liaising with Twitter regarding changes to account verification and labels,” the spokesperson said.

Twitter has recently begun branding media with three new labels. Accounts can be labelled as “state-affiliated media”, “government-funded media” or “publicly-funded media”.

The social media platform defines government-funded media as accounts where the government provides some or all of the funding. It also states that it may have varying degrees of government involvement over editorial content.

The exact same labelling was recently added to the BBC on its main Twitter account.

It responded calling the branding an issue and contacting Twitter wanting a resolution.

“The BBC is, and always has been, independent. We are funded by the British public through the licence fee,” it said.

Twitter owner Elon Musk responded saying the label provided clarity of exact funding sources to media outlets.

“We are aiming for maximum transparency and accuracy. Linking to ownership and source of funds probably makes sense. I do think media organizations should be self-aware and not falsely claim the complete absence of bias,” he said.

Photo: white iPad on red textile by Souvik Banerjee is available HERE. The photo has not been modified.