Today’s fact checkers are so concerned with controlling the narrative that they are even going after content clearly labeled as satire. In fact, they’re so blinded by their mission that these fact checkers are coming for The Babylon Bee once again. This time for a fictional piece by the popular satire site about transgender athlete Laurel Hubbard.
The website openly labels itself satire but real life news is so crazy that their headlines can be mistaken for real ones. This latest fact check is on a piece about a female Olympic weightlifter suffering a testicle injury.
Laurel Hubbard Set Weightlifting Records As A Male
Laurel Hubbard qualified for the New Zealand women’s weightlifting team. The 43-year-old, who previously set New Zealand junior records in the male division, has transitioned and now competes against biological women.
The visual of a very burly Hubbard lifting weights captured international attention. So much so that some people are questioning the fairness of the situation.
NFL great and Super Bowl MVP Brett Favre even weighed in on the controversy.
“It’s a man competing as a woman,” the legendary quarterback said. “That’s unfair. It’s not fair for a man, even if this person wants to be a woman or feels compelled — if you want to become the opposite sex, that’s fine. I got no problem with it. But you can’t compete against — males cannot compete against females.”
The Babylon Bee Publishes Satire Piece About Laurel Hubbard
The buzz around Hubbard’s story made it a prime target for The Babylon Bee.
The satirical news website published a story titled, “Female Weightlifter Suffers Tragic Testicle Injury Just Weeks Before Tokyo Olympics.”
Female Weightlifter Suffers Tragic Testicle Injury Just Weeks Before Tokyo Olympics https://t.co/8O7vNkCny4
— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) June 26, 2021
This story got a lot of attention for its cheeky headline and prose. It was going viral and that drew the attention of the fact checkers.
RELATED: Transgender Athlete Chelsea Wolfe Says Goal Is To ‘Burn a US Flag’ at Olympic Podium
Facebook even put a fact checking warning on posts sharing the story.
The Babylon Bee is already identified as satire, but that wasn’t enough for the fact checkers who are concerned someone will take this seriously.
Popular blue collar comedian Larry the Cable Guy mocked the nonsense of fact checking The Babylon Bee.
??? RT @TimRunsHisMouth: Facebook is fact checking the satirical @TheBabylonBee again… what a bunch of f-ing clowns. pic.twitter.com/RFKpX0Qspk
— Larry The Cable Guy (@GitRDoneLarry) June 26, 2021
Fact Checkers Come For The Babylon Bee
The fact checkers have been coming hard for The Babylon Bee.
They don’t treat The Onion the same way. Perhaps because The Onion is considered a more left leaning satirical website.
There might actually be a method to the madness according to the site’s CEO. He believes this fact check goes beyond a harmless flag to alert readers who might be confused and believe it to be straight news.
Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, pointed out that the fact checkers appear to be on step 3 of a scheme to “ban” his site.
A recent tweet by Dillon suggests these fact checkers are creating a track record with actual news stories attacking The Babylon Bee to eventually use as an excuse to ban the website.
How to ban a satire site you don’t like:
1. Prohibit satire that “punches down.”
2. Write articles saying the satire site you don’t like punches down.
3. Cite the articles in Wikipedia to solidify the narrative.
4. Ban the site and reference those sources.They’re on step 3. pic.twitter.com/zQwVVwG3LY
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) June 27, 2021
So don’t be surprised if you continue to see The Babylon Bee’s satire being targeted by fact checkers.
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