The satire geniuses at The Babylon Bee are no strangers to their work hitting so close to the mark that it will occasionally get flagged for “violating community standards” or some such excuse from social media outlets. This week is no different, and Bee CEO Seth Dillion has explained the latest reason the site’s Twitter account has been locked:
I just received this notice that we’ve been locked out of our account for “hateful conduct.” pic.twitter.com/udMriKcDr6
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022
Here’s the offending story:
“The Babylon Bee’s Man of the Year is Rachel Levine” is what Twitter took an issue with.
Dillon says that has to be deleted before access to their Twitter account is restored:
We're told our account will be restored in 12 hours, but the countdown won't begin until we delete the tweet that violates the Twitter Rules. pic.twitter.com/85tdmrqJpU
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022
We're not deleting anything. Truth is not hate speech. If the cost of telling the truth is the loss of our Twitter account, then so be it.
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) March 20, 2022
Is this real life?
Will the last person out please turn off the lights. what a stupid, humorless world these leftists live in.
— Lisa (@Rockprincess818) March 20, 2022
It's like a child's game of make-believe gone wrong. "We're all pretending Rachel Levine is a woman! You're being bad by not going along with our game! Go to timeout!"
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) March 21, 2022
hey @twitter why are you okay with erasing women https://t.co/7rtkgwyh0t
— Kaya Masters (@kaya_masters) March 21, 2022
There is no satire allowed in George Orwell’s 1984 either. Insane. https://t.co/6Odgdr4pCG
— Jeremy Wayne Tate (@JeremyTate41) March 21, 2022
The story even caught the attention of Sen. Ted Cruz:
Twitter hates comedy.
It hates truth.
It hates free speech.
And it hates the American People, because they refuse to be docile sheep. https://t.co/ejgtbWewsd
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) March 21, 2022
The biggest enemy of social media companies seems to be when satire hits way too close to reality.
***
Related:
‘Are you SURE this is a spoof?’ Babylon Bee shares what’s next for Ghislaine Maxwell
Join the conversation as a VIP Member