Seth Dillon, creator of Babylon B, discusses the blurred line between real news and satire. They explore how satire sometimes turns out to be true. They also talk about the challenge of creating jokes funnier than reality and the selective nature of fact-checking. The importance of free speech and their experiences in Twitter prison are explored. They discuss a controversial headline and refusing to delete a tweet, leading to consequences and involvement of Elon Musk. They also highlight the tactics used to silence dissenting voices.
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Quick takeaways
The Babylon Bee's satirical news stories often become true in real life, highlighting the absurdity of the world and the rooted truth behind their jokes.
Censorship on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook presents a challenge with passive-aggressive tactics and the power dynamic that hinders free speech and the ability to challenge or mock certain individuals or topics.
Deep dives
The power of satire to expose truth
Seth Dillon, the man behind Babylon Bee, discusses how their satirical news stories often become true in real life. He explains that it's challenging to satirize the absurdity of the world because reality is already so wild. The jokes they make are rooted in truth, which is why they often come true. He also discusses the role of fact-checkers in censoring and misrepresenting their work, pointing out their biased approach and how they protect the popular narrative.
Censorship and the importance of free speech
The conversation touches on the issue of censorship on social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook. Seth mentions being in Twitter jail for eight months and the refusal to delete a joke that violated content policies. The discussion highlights the problem of passive-aggressive censorship and the power dynamic that comes into play when certain individuals or topics cannot be challenged or mocked. The conversation also raises the question of whether it's better to deal with overt censorship in a straightforward manner or subtle censorship masked as community guidelines.
The pressure from advertisers and revenue challenges
The discussion delves into the difficulties faced by platforms like Twitter in maintaining revenue while upholding principles of free speech. Seth mentions brands pressuring platforms to silence certain speech and how this affects the financial stability of platforms. The conversation acknowledges Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter and his commitment to free speech, but also poses the question of how to balance revenue generation with a truly free speech platform.
Hope for the future
Seth expresses hope for the future, citing the legal recourse available through laws against viewpoint discrimination. He highlights the Supreme Court's involvement in cases regarding these laws and how their rulings could impact the ability of platforms to engage in politically motivated censorship. Seth emphasizes the importance of staying in the conversation on existing platforms, despite their challenges, and not creating echo chambers by moving to alternative platforms.
Corporate media is dead, which is why the Babylon Bee is more trusted than CNN. Seth Dillon tells us how his satire site gets closer to the truth than the "mainstream news."