On Sunday, Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon revealed that his company, known for its satirical takes on politics and culture, has been locked out of its Twitter account for “hateful conduct.”
“I just received this notice that we’ve been locked out of our account for ‘hateful conduct,’” Dillion tweeted Sunday afternoon.
Twitter’s action came over The Babylon Bee’s piece from five days ago, jokingly naming Health and Human Services (HHS) Assistant Secretary Rachel Levine as “Man of the Year.”
Levine, a biological man, is best known for coming out as a transgender female before being appointed by President Joe Biden to the role of assistant secretary for the HHS. Recently, Levine was named one of USA Today’s “Women of the Year.”
Twitter flagged the Bee’s post poking fun at Levine’s transition and name change for violating its rules against “hateful conduct.” The rule states, “You may not promote violence against, threaten, or harass other people on the basis of race, ethnicity, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, religious affiliation, age, disability, or serious disease.”
Dillon wrote that Twitter told the Bee that the account could be restored 12 hours after the company deletes the tweet linking to the article on Levine. Dillon told his followers that they don’t plan on deleting the tweet. “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,” he wrote.
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
On Saturday, The Daily Wire reported that Twitter took action against a tweet from Republican Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who, like The Babylon Bee, referred to Levine as a man. On Thursday, Paxton posted a screenshot of the USA Today article naming Levine as one of its “Women of the Year” and commented, “Rachel Levine is a man.” Twitter flagged the tweet as being hateful, but allowed it to remain, stating, “This tweet violated the Twitter Rules about hateful conduct. However, Twitter has determined that it may be in the public’s interest for the tweet to remain accessible.”
Paxton followed Twitter’s flagging by releasing a statement on Big Tech censorship Friday. He wrote:
Yesterday I stated an irrefutable scientific fact: Rachel Levine is a man. I pointed this out after USA Today named him a “Woman” of the Year. But Levine is not a woman. He has one X and one Y chromosome and other male-sex characteristics. I just follow the science.
For simply saying this matter-of-factly, Twitter blocked it as “hateful.” Users can now only access my statement through a trigger-warning filter. And even then, users can neither like it nor comment on it. At the same time, hundreds of other verified accounts saying the exact same thing remain untouched and unfiltered.
This whole insane episode represents a two-pronged attack from the left — both of which I’m vigorously fighting against. First is the left’s war against human biology, and especially against women. Second is their weaponization of Big Tech against conservative voices.
But Big Tech is not only anti-conservative and anti-Republican. It is now apparently anti-truth and anti-science. I will continue to use all my power to hold them accountable. Even now, I’m exploring legal options to stop their one-sided censorship.