The Babylon Bee the Conservative parody site was suspended for twelve hours by Twitter after it mocked Rachel Levine, awarding the transgender Biden administration official with the title of ‘Man of the Year,’ something that Twitter considered as hateful speech.
The Babylon Bee story was obviously a response to Dr. Rachel Levine being named the ‘Women of the Year’ by USA Today. Levine is the assistant health secretary at the dept. of Health and Human Services.
The Babylon Bee CEO, Seth Dillon tweeted that he had received the message of being locked out for what Twitter said was ‘hateful conduct.’
A succession of tweets followed where Dillon explained that he had been informed that the suspension was for twelve hours, but said that the countdown would start only after The Babylon Bee deleted the contentious tweet.
The Babylon Bee CEO has refused to delete the tweet on his own, adding that as The Babylon Bee remained suspended, they were unable to upload any new posts.
Twitter Act Against Hateful Content In The Babylon Bee Appears To Have Backfired
But it appears that Twitter’s intention has backfired spectacularly as the original tweet, posted a week ago, had gone largely unnoticed and went suddenly viral after the account got suspended.
Jessica O’Donnell shared the picture that The Bee posted, adding that tweeting got the site suspended. She advised others not to share the tweet as it could get them suspended too.
The correct intention of Twitter misfired and created an unintended firestorm that finally only served to benefit The Bee.
Given the site’s obstinacy, it seems that The Bee could be in for a permanent suspension. But in the process, it has become recognized by many who previously had never heard of it.
Whatever be the final outcome, it is apparent that social media is never a place for meaningful discussion as opinions get polarized too quickly and where opinions are formed in a few words that leave no room for subtleties.
Twitter was definitely not expecting the reaction as The Babylon Bee suspension received the attention of multiple media outlets.
