Last week, the Babylon Bee gifted us with another helping of their brilliance with a piece on creeped-out-by-Catholics Democratic Sen. Mazie Hirono:
Senator Hirono Demands ACB Be Weighed Against A Duck To See If She Is A Witch https://t.co/nRjiG0kNRI
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) October 14, 2020
The piece is peak Babylon Bee: hilarious and cutting.
But it shines a lot on Mazie Hirono’s awfulness, and Hirono carries with her the all-powerful (D), so the Bee must be punished.
That’s where Facebook comes in. More from Babylon Bee editor-in-chief Kyle Mann:
Facebook seems to have deleted @TheBabylonBee's post saying Senator Hirono wanted to weigh ACB against a duck for "violating our Community Standards." We requested a review but they haven't gotten back to us. pic.twitter.com/GWW5c4veCV
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) October 17, 2020
We finally tell a third conservative joke and they delete it. Though we stole this one.
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) October 17, 2020
Facebook is also penalizing us by restricting monetization with ominous warnings of further penalties for future violations. pic.twitter.com/YTJpsEGMnC
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) October 17, 2020
Huh.
Read this thread from our editor in chief. More threats and penalties from @Facebook, this time for violations of community standards. They haven't told us what policy we supposedly violated with this silly, innocuous post. https://t.co/9rORrGqaEj
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) October 17, 2020
Well, for what it’s worth, Facebook finally responded to their request.
According to Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon, this is what Facebook is doing to rectify the situation:
So after a manual review, Facebook says they stand by their decision to pull down this article and demonetize our page. I'm not kidding. They say this article "incites violence." It's literally a regurgitated joke from a Monty Python movie!https://t.co/U9B6tTOj6N
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) October 20, 2020
Recommended
In what universe does a fictional quote as part of an obvious joke constitute a genuine incitement to violence? How does context not come into play here? They're asking us to edit the article and not speak publicly about internal content reviews. Oops, did I just tweet this?
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) October 20, 2020
A Black Lives Matter leader said that if change doesn't happen, they'll "burn down this system." That's allowed on Facebook. You can quote it. You can link to it. But a Monty Python joke about burning a witch at the stake? That's incitement to violence. ? show.
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) October 20, 2020
Total clown show.
The @Facebook censors pic.twitter.com/Hk3EZ8uWbk
— Ray Volpatt (@RVolpatt) October 20, 2020
*sets self on fire*
— Beard and Circus (@Shooter_ptpx01) October 20, 2020
This is insane. Also fascinating to watch social media giants repeatedly sh*t the bed over @TheBabylonBee’s satire. https://t.co/lpUPbh382B
— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) October 20, 2020
Now we see the violence inherent in the system.
So will the media stand up for the Babylon Bee, or because they believe in wrong things will they not pressure Facebook to reverse this decision? https://t.co/mt9y8mNTf4
— Nathan Wurtzel is a silly name, but it's mine (@NathanWurtzel) October 20, 2020
Well, we’re pretty sure we know what the mainstream media Guardians of Truth will do, but if they want a chance to do the right thing for a change, the Babylon Bee is giving them a golden opportunity:
We will not be editing the article to get our page's monetization reinstated. We will, however, be talking to the media about this. Send your inquiries my way: seth@babylonbee.com
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) October 20, 2020
Contrary to increasingly popular belief on the Left, censorship is not a good thing. And the fight against censorship is one worth fighting.
Social media companies have full, unilateral control over whether a website lives or dies at the push of a button. That's why we decided to become reader-supported — and we're deeply thankful for each of you who subscribes.https://t.co/uOhLOE5NPl
— Kyle Mann (@The_Kyle_Mann) October 17, 2020
Keep doing what you’re doing, Babylon Bee.
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