Public media group CBC/Radio-Canada on Monday announced its decision to “suspend” its activities on Twitter after Elon Musk’s platform decided to put the “government-funded media” label on it. “By challenging our independence through this false label designed to mislead the public, this network is questioning the accuracy and professionalism of the work done by our journalists,” the group said in a statement.

“Our journalism is impartial and independent. Claiming the opposite is wrong,” added the group, which recalls that its “editorial independence” is protected by law and that it is “financed from public funds, through a parliamentary means decided by all MPs.” The group encouraged Canadians to follow them on other social networks.

“This is propaganda”

Last week, Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre wrote to Elon Musk asking him to place this label on the public group. “Now people know this is Trudeau propaganda, not news,” he tweeted after the announcement.

In response, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau recalled media independence on Monday and castigated the attitude of his opponents. “The Conservative Party chose to attack an institution that is important to many Canadians and chose to hit billionaires from the internet giants in the United States,” he lamented.

Pierre Poilievre has long been an opponent of the public media group. “His hostility towards the state-owned company is notorious,” the daily newspaper recalled in an editorial The duty, who adds that attacks on the public service media “are a national sport even for many Canadians of all stripes.” The Conservative leader, on the other hand, clearly pledged to cut off “CBC but not Radio-Canada” in the event of victory in the next election, according to his French-speaking site The press.

The previous NPR

Last week, US public radio NPR became the first major broadcaster to leave Twitter in protest at the station’s new policy. In the UK, for its part, the BBC was labeled ‘publicly funded’ after initially being given the ‘government-funded media’ label.

Also read: A first major medium is leaving Twitter

The media’s main departure from the Twitter platform comes amid the launch of a controversial new certification policy that will see the network award its famous blue tick to those who pay to use it, starting April 20. At the beginning of April, she removed this tick from the main account New York Times (55 million subscribers), another gesture of defiance towards a well-respected outlet, but one that some conservatives see as too left-leaning.

The billionaire entrepreneur readily shows contempt for the media. Recently, an emoticon in the shape of a turd was automatically sent to Twitter’s communication service for requests from the press.

Since buying the company from Blue Bird, Elon Musk has relaxed moderation of content on the network, leaving many users banned for messages inciting hatred or falling under misinformation. He also quit with a vengeance, reducing the group’s workforce from 7,500 to less than 2,000 employees.

Also read: Due to random certifications, Twitter turns into the total blur