Know Your Meme

Satire News Outlet 'The Babylon Bee' Suspended On Twitter Over A Rachel Levine Joke Labeled Transphobic

March 21st, 2022 - 10:06 AM EDT by Owen Carry

12 comments

( Twitter / @SethDillon )

Satire news outlet The Babylon Bee was suspended on Twitter over the weekend for a post of theirs that labeled United States admiral Rachel Levine as "Babylon Bee's Man of the Year."

Seth Dillon, the CEO of the conservative satirical news outlet stated in a tweet that he received a notice on Sunday that the account of the company had been locked, attaching a screenshot of the notice, which showed the reasoning as "hateful conduct." The joke aimed at Levine did not threaten her but was seen as harassment based on gender and gender identity, according to the platform, and transphobic by many other users.

Dillon expressed confusion regarding the suspension. Even though it would only last 12 hours, Dillon refused to delete the tweet that would initiate the suspension lift. If the Bee did not delete the tweet, the suspension would not lift.

Levine, who is a transgender woman, one of the first to hold high office in the United States government, isn't a stranger to backlash regarding her gender identity. The Babylon Bee headline is in fact directly inspired by USA Today naming Levine one of its "12 Women of the Year" last week. The Babylon Bee's article was then published later on the same day.

Conservatives on Twitter additionally were outraged by USA Today's decision, however, their accounts weren't suspended like the Bee's was, even though they also levied hate towards Lia Thomas in their comments about Levine.

As of today, the Babylon Bee has not been let back into its Twitter account and users on the platform are still reacting. Many on the political right see the ban as unfair. They have continued to express their beliefs regarding free speech, deeming this suspension a violation of that basic right.

Others on the left see the suspension as fair, trying to champion Levine's transition regardless of the outrage relayed from the opposing side. Many saw the joke as "low-hanging fruit," viewing the Bee's efforts at comedy as underwhelming. Overall, the viral discussion is proving to be messy and the Babylon Bee's future on the platform is uncertain if they continue to refuse deletion.

Share Pin

Comments 12 total

William The Brit

Mar 23, 2022 at 04:00AM EDT

I disagree completely with the sentiment of the tweet, I also disagree completely with silicon valley tech giants acting as arbiters of morality.

0

Brian91jn

Mar 21, 2022 at 05:46PM EDT

I can see how this can be upsetting for some women. Or, is it?

0

downer

Mar 21, 2022 at 12:41PM EDT

This definitely isn't the first time BB's said an MtF is a man. Why now?

0

GoonerBear

Mar 21, 2022 at 03:59PM EDT downer

Might be the first time a bunch of people reported the tweet? That's my best guess. The way I understand it, a tweet has to be reported enough for someone with that power to even be bothered to look at it.

1

Sumarios

Mar 21, 2022 at 11:36AM EDT

But remember, it's not censorship unless the government does it. Unelected, profit driven corporate entities shutting down the free exchange of ideas and demanding you deny reality is totally fine.

5

:̶.̶|̶:̶;̶

Mar 21, 2022 at 11:48AM EDT Sumarios

> But remember, it's not censorship unless the government does it.

That's also pretending that Silicon Valley and the feds don't have their hands up each other's asses.

5

downer

Mar 21, 2022 at 01:08PM EDT Sumarios

And of course, Twitter absolutely doesn't control an overwhelming majority share of the oligopoly on mass information dissemination, so it doesn't matter anyway.

3

Revic

Mar 21, 2022 at 11:56PM EDT Sumarios

> Unelected, profit driven corporate entities
As opposed to… elected corporate entities?

-1

view the rest of this conversation →

Know Your Meme

  Like Page   1.8M likes
pinterest