BBC 'speaking to Twitter' after being labelled as 'government funded media'

THE BBC has said it is “speaking to Twitter” in a bid to change the “government funded media” tag on its official account.

The BBC account has 2.2 million followers and the tag can still be seen. The broadcaster is not funded by the UK Government but rather through the license fee.

The government does play a role in setting the level of the fee, although it is collected by companies contracted by the BBC through the TV licensing authority.

The organisation has been tagged as 'government funded media' (Image: Twitter)

A BBC spokesperson told Deadline: “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.”

According to Deadline, the Twitter boss would have a case for labelling the @BBCWorldService account as government-funded as the state does contribute some funding for audiences based outside the UK.

However, the @BBC account does not tweet about World Service operations.

The National approached Twitter for comment although the social media company replied with a poo emoji.