WEBVTT - Episode 5: Satirical Double Standards with The Babylon Bee’s Seth Dillon 0:00:00.240 --> 0:00:02.600 Up next, The Truth with Lisa Booth, part of the 0:00:02.640 --> 0:00:05.960 Gang which So the past few months have been really 0:00:05.960 --> 0:00:09.280 hard for Americans across the country with the coronavirus. We've 0:00:09.280 --> 0:00:13.120 seen loss of life, lots of loved ones, loss of income, 0:00:13.240 --> 0:00:17.600 loss of livelihood, riots over the summer, a political election 0:00:17.760 --> 0:00:20.920 that was tumultuous and is divided and fractured this nation. 0:00:21.600 --> 0:00:24.320 If there was ever a time we all needed to laugh, 0:00:24.960 --> 0:00:27.960 it's now. So why does the Left keep trying to 0:00:28.000 --> 0:00:32.320 shut down my next guest. Come for the conversation, stay 0:00:32.400 --> 0:00:35.840 for the laughs. This is The Truth with Lisa Booth. 0:00:45.680 --> 0:00:48.240 Welcome back to the Truth with Lisa Booth. I've got 0:00:48.320 --> 0:00:51.519 a really special show for you guys this week that 0:00:51.640 --> 0:00:53.840 won't just make you think, but also will hopefully make 0:00:53.840 --> 0:00:57.440 you laugh. That's because my next guest is Seth Dylan, 0:00:57.680 --> 0:01:01.640 the CEO of The Babylon B. If you use social media, 0:01:02.040 --> 0:01:05.160 you are probably familiar with The Babylon B. It's a 0:01:05.240 --> 0:01:09.200 conservative satirical website that has been described as the rights 0:01:09.280 --> 0:01:13.199 version of the Onion, and it is absolutely hilarious. I'm 0:01:13.280 --> 0:01:16.000 such a fan. I'm constantly retweeting their work. It's just 0:01:16.040 --> 0:01:19.920 so funny. So Dylan actually acquired the b from the 0:01:19.959 --> 0:01:23.720 site's creator, Adam Ford, in two thousand eighteen. The Babylon 0:01:23.800 --> 0:01:27.399 Be has been a massive success and attracts millions of 0:01:27.440 --> 0:01:30.280 years each month with its wit and humor. Behind every 0:01:30.360 --> 0:01:34.200 joke is powerful insight into our culture or politics and 0:01:34.400 --> 0:01:37.119 the absurdity of the people who are in charge, and 0:01:37.200 --> 0:01:40.920 it makes people laugh with headlines like this Mexico installs 0:01:41.000 --> 0:01:43.640 stairs to keep Biden out that was after the fall 0:01:43.720 --> 0:01:48.639 that he had, or this powerful protesters spell out love 0:01:48.720 --> 0:01:52.200 with burning homes and businesses and you guys can't see it, 0:01:52.240 --> 0:01:54.520 but there's an image of love written out in flames. 0:01:55.360 --> 0:01:58.320 Or after a CNN reporter took aim at the Babylon B, 0:01:59.000 --> 0:02:01.920 it ran a headline that said, CNN attacks Babylon B. 0:02:02.720 --> 0:02:05.279 The Internet is only big enough for one fake news site, 0:02:05.520 --> 0:02:09.080 so you get the idea. Their content is clever, it's funny, 0:02:09.120 --> 0:02:12.280 but it also serves as commentary on what's actually going 0:02:12.320 --> 0:02:15.880 on in our country. But despite explicitly saying that it 0:02:15.960 --> 0:02:20.080 writes satire and does not actually report the news, the 0:02:20.120 --> 0:02:23.240 Babel and B has somehow become a target of big 0:02:23.280 --> 0:02:26.880 tech and the political left, Twitter, Facebook and mainstream media 0:02:26.919 --> 0:02:30.600 outlets like the New York Times have absurdly accused the 0:02:30.639 --> 0:02:34.880 b of trafficking and misinformation. Remember that this is a 0:02:34.919 --> 0:02:38.440 site that on Twitter it actually describes itself as the 0:02:38.480 --> 0:02:42.320 fake news you can trust. They call themselves a satirical website. 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:46.080 They make that explicitly clear, so they're not trying to 0:02:46.200 --> 0:02:48.919 deceive anyone. And also, can I just repeat that it's 0:02:48.960 --> 0:02:53.200 the New York Times accusing them of misinformation? That's pretty ironic. 0:02:53.520 --> 0:02:56.760 But besides all that, big tech has taken aim at 0:02:56.800 --> 0:02:59.919 the Babel on b and the left wing fat checker 0:03:00.120 --> 0:03:03.320 snopes dot com actually fact checked the Bees headline that 0:03:03.400 --> 0:03:08.480 read this CNN purchases industrial size washing machine to spin 0:03:08.560 --> 0:03:12.320 news before publication. They really did this, and unlike the 0:03:12.320 --> 0:03:14.800 be snoops, was not joking. I mean, do you all 0:03:14.880 --> 0:03:18.440 actually think that the Onion gets targeted like this? Of 0:03:18.440 --> 0:03:21.480 course they don't, because they're not conservative. We're going to 0:03:21.560 --> 0:03:24.519 get into all of this with Seth Dylan, the Babel 0:03:24.600 --> 0:03:28.720 and Bees CEO, and hopefully laugh a little sad. Thanks 0:03:28.760 --> 0:03:31.840 so much for taking the time to join us today. 0:03:31.880 --> 0:03:34.320 Thank you for having Lisa so tell us a little 0:03:34.320 --> 0:03:35.880 bit so that for the folks at home, if they're 0:03:35.920 --> 0:03:37.720 not familiar with the Babel on Bee, just tell us 0:03:37.720 --> 0:03:41.560 a little bit about it. So we're a satire set. 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:43.560 I mean, if you if you look at how we're 0:03:43.640 --> 0:03:47.080 characterized and how you know, the media covers us, Um, 0:03:47.160 --> 0:03:49.720 that varies quite a bit, but generally we're described as 0:03:49.720 --> 0:03:52.240 like a conservative version of the Onion. So most people 0:03:52.320 --> 0:03:54.320 know what the Onion is and can make that connection. 0:03:54.400 --> 0:03:57.720 But um, you know, we write news satire, We cover 0:03:57.800 --> 0:03:59.840 the stories of the day, and we do it for 0:04:00.400 --> 0:04:04.600 you know, a right of center conservative and also Christian perspective. 0:04:04.680 --> 0:04:07.680 So we're just bringing a different worldview to the approach 0:04:07.800 --> 0:04:10.160 of how we're doing the satire. But basically, we just 0:04:10.720 --> 0:04:12.760 you know, take whatever bad ideas are out there and 0:04:12.960 --> 0:04:15.040 mock and ridicule the hell out of them, which there's 0:04:15.120 --> 0:04:19.880 kind of an abundance these days, there is. There, truly is. Yeah, 0:04:19.880 --> 0:04:22.320 And that's why that's kind of why when people ask me, like, 0:04:22.360 --> 0:04:25.200 what's you know, why is satire so important today in 0:04:25.240 --> 0:04:27.800 this day and age, and like, well, precisely for that reason. 0:04:27.920 --> 0:04:30.880 Satire ridicules bad ideas well. I mean, it's a target 0:04:30.960 --> 0:04:33.120 rich environment. I mean you've got like I remember over 0:04:33.120 --> 0:04:36.480 the summer you had CNN telling us that the riots 0:04:36.480 --> 0:04:39.880 were mostly peaceful and they're with the Kiroon said mostly 0:04:39.920 --> 0:04:43.320 people peaceful and their fires burning in the background. It's like, 0:04:44.040 --> 0:04:45.880 I mean, you you can't even you can't make that 0:04:45.920 --> 0:04:47.840 stuff up. If we had, you know, that would have 0:04:47.880 --> 0:04:49.720 been a really funny joke just to do is like 0:04:49.760 --> 0:04:52.200 a skit or something like that, But it's hard to 0:04:52.200 --> 0:04:53.680 be I mean, we try to exaggerate it. We did 0:04:53.680 --> 0:04:56.120 an animation skit like that where the where the reporters 0:04:56.120 --> 0:04:58.840 actually like getting stabbed by rioters and like having bricks 0:04:58.880 --> 0:05:00.400 thrown at I mean, he's still insis thing it as 0:05:00.400 --> 0:05:03.640 peaceful um. But it's hard to It's hard to exaggerate 0:05:03.680 --> 0:05:06.920 reality when it's already a parody of itself. Yeah, exactly, 0:05:07.000 --> 0:05:09.479 which is a sad statement and reflection of where we 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:11.800 are today in society. But you know here we are. 0:05:11.880 --> 0:05:14.760 So so when did you become CEO? So it was 0:05:14.800 --> 0:05:18.560 started before and then you acquired it? What what sort 0:05:18.560 --> 0:05:21.320 of drew you to UM the babel and be and 0:05:21.560 --> 0:05:24.159 why did you choose to purchase it? I wish I 0:05:24.160 --> 0:05:26.320 could take credit for starting it. I mean it's just 0:05:26.920 --> 0:05:30.240 I was a fan UM. Early on, people were sharing 0:05:30.240 --> 0:05:33.160 the articles with me all the time, and they were 0:05:33.160 --> 0:05:35.160 going viral, and it was really funny, and it was 0:05:35.240 --> 0:05:38.719 like quality comedy. It wasn't cheesy. It was like biting 0:05:38.920 --> 0:05:43.000 and snarky and ironic and full of mockery. And I 0:05:43.040 --> 0:05:45.880 loved it. I've always loved satirical humor, but I've never 0:05:45.920 --> 0:05:48.400 really seen much of it from my political perspective, so 0:05:48.440 --> 0:05:50.960 it was really refreshing to see not only that, but also, 0:05:51.000 --> 0:05:52.680 you know, the inside church jokes. I grew up as 0:05:52.720 --> 0:05:54.359 a pastor's kids, so I have kind of you know, 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.040 the inside church knowledge, and those jokes all made sense 0:05:57.040 --> 0:05:59.640 to me. They didn't go over my head. So um, 0:05:59.680 --> 0:06:02.000 I would really attracted to it for those reasons. I 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:04.359 thought it was really good quality stuff. But it was 0:06:04.360 --> 0:06:06.960 like a small time, little blog running on WordPress that 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:09.480 clearly was like not a big time operation. It was 0:06:09.520 --> 0:06:12.000 just getting off the ground but was but was really 0:06:12.000 --> 0:06:14.719 being shared widely. So I mean I got involved just 0:06:14.800 --> 0:06:17.560 because I originally reached out just to see if they 0:06:17.560 --> 0:06:19.479 wanted an investor, you know, to kind of go to 0:06:19.520 --> 0:06:21.880 the next level, if they wanted some some extra cash. 0:06:22.440 --> 0:06:25.120 Um and Adam, who was running it, wanted to sell 0:06:25.120 --> 0:06:26.839 the site. He didn't want to keep running it because 0:06:26.880 --> 0:06:30.320 he was afraid of what might happen with big tech censorship, 0:06:30.480 --> 0:06:33.479 and he didn't like the the spotlight that he was under. 0:06:33.520 --> 0:06:35.480 He was getting a lot of attention he wasn't comfortable with. 0:06:35.600 --> 0:06:37.839 So um, he wanted to kind of step out of 0:06:37.880 --> 0:06:39.960 that role. UM. And I saw it just as a 0:06:39.960 --> 0:06:42.520 great opportunity to get involved because I couldn't pass it up. 0:06:42.600 --> 0:06:45.320 So I really didn't have the intention of running it. 0:06:45.360 --> 0:06:47.600 I really had the intention just of investing in it, 0:06:47.839 --> 0:06:49.280 but when I had the opportunity to buy it, I 0:06:49.320 --> 0:06:51.600 couldn't pass it up. Well, And so take us through 0:06:51.640 --> 0:06:54.520 the editorial process, because we as we've already discussed, it's 0:06:54.520 --> 0:06:57.600 a it's a target rich environment right now, So kind 0:06:57.600 --> 0:07:02.640 of take us through what that process looks like. Uh well, 0:07:02.680 --> 0:07:04.760 I mean, so we wake up every day, we look 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:07.360 at what's going on in the news, and we have 0:07:07.400 --> 0:07:09.720 our slack channel where all of our writers are and 0:07:09.760 --> 0:07:11.960 we're just kind of chatting with each other and we 0:07:12.080 --> 0:07:14.280 just throw out ideas, like the joke always starts with 0:07:14.280 --> 0:07:17.160 the headline. It's always the headline. Um. You know, most 0:07:17.200 --> 0:07:19.239 of the people I wish they would read the articles 0:07:19.280 --> 0:07:20.720 and click through and then click on all of the 0:07:20.760 --> 0:07:23.520 ads because that's how I get rich. Um. But they 0:07:23.640 --> 0:07:25.680 but most people just read the headlines and that's all 0:07:25.720 --> 0:07:27.840 you really need to get the joke because we we 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:30.080 we pump, we pump it in there, we include it 0:07:30.280 --> 0:07:34.200 in the headline. So all of them back and forth 0:07:34.240 --> 0:07:37.120 between the writers is just pitching and iterating on headlines 0:07:37.160 --> 0:07:40.000 to try to narrow down something that's that's worded just right, 0:07:40.440 --> 0:07:44.040 that we know is going to connect with our audience. So, um, 0:07:44.080 --> 0:07:47.360 that's really what it is. Now. The liberal media will 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:49.000 tell you that we wake up every day thinking of 0:07:49.040 --> 0:07:53.800 how many people can we deceive today with our malicious misinformation? Right, Um, 0:07:53.840 --> 0:07:56.600 but really we're just going for laughs, and we are, 0:07:56.720 --> 0:07:59.000 you know, trying to speak truth to culture in some ways, 0:07:59.080 --> 0:08:02.440 but it's but it's just a process of taking what's 0:08:02.440 --> 0:08:05.480 going on in the headlines and exaggerating it and and 0:08:05.640 --> 0:08:08.760 again ridiculing the bad ideas, mocking the hypocrisy and the 0:08:08.800 --> 0:08:11.400 double standards. Um that you see out there. And it 0:08:11.560 --> 0:08:14.400 is a very rich environment. But um, you know a 0:08:14.400 --> 0:08:16.600 lot of people you say it's a target rich environment. 0:08:16.640 --> 0:08:19.640 That is true, Um, but there is an extent to 0:08:19.680 --> 0:08:22.640 which is actually more challenging to do satire in this 0:08:22.720 --> 0:08:24.840 kind of environment than it isn't any other, just because, 0:08:24.880 --> 0:08:28.680 like I said, you know, parody, uh is everywhere in reality, 0:08:28.960 --> 0:08:31.440 and so it's very difficult to exaggerate that which is 0:08:31.440 --> 0:08:34.880 already so crazy and absurd. So we find it actually 0:08:34.960 --> 0:08:37.040 challenging day to day to come up with stuff that's 0:08:37.080 --> 0:08:38.800 even more crazy than what's actually out there in the 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.120 real headlines. But see to that point. I mean, look, 0:08:41.160 --> 0:08:43.880 we had Senna and recently tell us that you can't 0:08:43.880 --> 0:08:46.480 tell baby sex at birth. We have the Energy secretary 0:08:46.600 --> 0:08:49.520 recently telling us that we don't use past definitions of 0:08:49.559 --> 0:08:52.920 infrastructure because of their course trying to redefine the world 0:08:53.080 --> 0:08:57.400 word because Biden's transportation proposal is only like six percent 0:08:57.520 --> 0:09:00.599 actually infrastructure. You've got Marry and web Stir trying to 0:09:00.679 --> 0:09:03.040 change the definition of sexual preference to stick it to 0:09:03.080 --> 0:09:06.240 Amy Coney Barrett. But ironically, these are the people who 0:09:06.280 --> 0:09:09.640 are trying to be the arbiters of the truth. Yeah, 0:09:09.720 --> 0:09:12.600 it is ironic, isn't it. Um, They're they're they're changing 0:09:12.640 --> 0:09:16.480 the definitions of words every like ten seconds. Um, you 0:09:16.520 --> 0:09:19.120 know that everything is two plus two can equal five 0:09:19.160 --> 0:09:24.760 if you want it. To history is racist. Math is racist. Yeah, So, um, 0:09:25.320 --> 0:09:27.520 you do have this weird situation where they are trying 0:09:27.559 --> 0:09:29.720 to be the arbiters of truth and so we actually 0:09:29.720 --> 0:09:32.439 have to It's funny, you know. I sometimes I sometimes 0:09:32.480 --> 0:09:36.520 describe satire as true lies, um, because we are. We're 0:09:36.520 --> 0:09:40.600 actually telling the truth by exposing their lies. But we're 0:09:40.640 --> 0:09:43.079 doing it using fiction. So it's a little a little 0:09:43.080 --> 0:09:45.120 complicated what we do. But but but it is fun. 0:09:45.559 --> 0:09:48.400 You're your Twitter bio says fake news you can try, 0:09:49.720 --> 0:09:52.120 which is just for folks at home. Here are some 0:09:52.160 --> 0:09:54.680 of the headlines. I mean, it's it's genuinely hilarious. So 0:09:55.040 --> 0:09:58.000 they have one that says, Mexico installs Stais to keep 0:09:58.080 --> 0:10:00.719 Joe Biden out. Uh. And then so this other one 0:10:00.720 --> 0:10:04.040 that says Apple releases feminist series who refuses to listen? 0:10:04.440 --> 0:10:06.679 So it's it's it's hilarious. I mean, do you have, 0:10:06.880 --> 0:10:09.480 you know, going through all the different headlines since you 0:10:09.559 --> 0:10:13.640 came on board, do you have a favorite that stands out? Um? 0:10:14.120 --> 0:10:15.920 You know, it's funny. I get asked that question a lot, 0:10:16.000 --> 0:10:18.320 and I do have one that really stands out. I 0:10:18.320 --> 0:10:20.200 wanted I thought I thought it was an original question, 0:10:20.240 --> 0:10:24.760 but I guess I get um uh. You know, I 0:10:24.840 --> 0:10:27.120 had one headline when I first got involved. I was 0:10:27.160 --> 0:10:29.199 pitching so many headlines over and over and over again. 0:10:29.200 --> 0:10:32.320 I was pitching headlines, and like the guys were probably cringing, like, well, 0:10:32.360 --> 0:10:34.199 oh no, this this guy, he doesn't want to run 0:10:34.200 --> 0:10:35.640 the business. He wants to be a writer, you know. 0:10:36.000 --> 0:10:38.800 But I just in the process of getting to know 0:10:38.920 --> 0:10:41.000 the b and its voice and everything, I was really 0:10:41.000 --> 0:10:43.200 trying to like get in that mindset where I was 0:10:43.360 --> 0:10:46.200 able to do what they do. And I must have 0:10:46.240 --> 0:10:48.559 pitched a hundred and fifty headlines before even like one 0:10:48.600 --> 0:10:50.679 of them got published. But one of them did get published, 0:10:50.679 --> 0:10:56.400 and it was um uh, something like uh, Democrats draft 0:10:56.480 --> 0:10:58.520 legislation that would make it a hate crime to eat 0:10:58.520 --> 0:11:01.360 at Chick fil a. In it was right at the 0:11:01.400 --> 0:11:03.200 time when like Chick fil A was in the news, 0:11:03.440 --> 0:11:05.559 you know, for some reason, they were attacking them for something. 0:11:06.120 --> 0:11:08.720 Um And it was something that happened in New York, 0:11:08.760 --> 0:11:12.880 I think. And that that article got snoped, got fact 0:11:12.960 --> 0:11:16.560 checked because a viral a lot of people believed that 0:11:16.640 --> 0:11:19.160 it was true, and so Snopes fact checked it. And 0:11:19.200 --> 0:11:20.679 I was wearing that like a badge of honor, and 0:11:20.800 --> 0:11:24.200 like my first headline got published and it was already snoked. So, um, 0:11:24.240 --> 0:11:25.920 that was kind of cool. That one stands out in 0:11:26.000 --> 0:11:28.360 my memory. Um, we've had a lot that went like 0:11:28.440 --> 0:11:31.200 crazy viral or just meant this like it were like 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:34.920 this perfect nexus between like the Christian culture stuff and 0:11:34.960 --> 0:11:37.959 like what's going on in the news. Um. We did 0:11:38.000 --> 0:11:40.400 one about how Joel Osteen was handing out copies of 0:11:40.400 --> 0:11:42.680 your Best Life Now to people in like the flooded 0:11:43.200 --> 0:11:45.920 uh area of Houston while he was driving around in 0:11:45.960 --> 0:11:49.760 his yacht, and and it was just critical commentary on 0:11:49.840 --> 0:11:52.360 like his prosperity theology that like you can live your 0:11:52.360 --> 0:11:54.439 best life now. You know when it's like that gospel 0:11:54.440 --> 0:11:56.600 doesn't preach everywhere. Look at look around you and Houston 0:11:56.640 --> 0:12:00.120 everyone's dealing with this flood from Hurricane Harvey. So know 0:12:00.160 --> 0:12:02.240 that those kinds of things they can sometimes go really 0:12:02.320 --> 0:12:04.440 viral and have a really big impact. And those those 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:08.640 ones make an impression. I mean, it's not like you're 0:12:08.679 --> 0:12:11.800 just taking on democrats or liberals. I mean, you take 0:12:11.880 --> 0:12:15.360 on conservatives. You you know, you took on Trump during 0:12:15.400 --> 0:12:18.400 his administration, So I mean it's you're not just targeting 0:12:18.480 --> 0:12:20.640 the left you sort of target and make fun of, 0:12:21.160 --> 0:12:24.200 you know, just any sort of absurdity that you see. Yeah, 0:12:24.320 --> 0:12:26.920 and that's a lot. I think it's healthy to um, 0:12:27.120 --> 0:12:30.640 hold your yourself up to the mirror, you know, put 0:12:30.679 --> 0:12:34.320 put yourself in the crosshairs a little bit, and do 0:12:34.400 --> 0:12:36.599 some self deprecating stuff. I think it's really healthy for 0:12:36.640 --> 0:12:38.440 people to be able to laugh at themselves. We have 0:12:38.800 --> 0:12:41.400 this weird issue going on today where everybody is so 0:12:41.480 --> 0:12:45.440 offended by everything, and everybody takes themselves so seriously. No 0:12:45.480 --> 0:12:48.440 one wants to laugh. You know, if anyone, God forbid, 0:12:48.440 --> 0:12:50.800 you're the target of a stereotype. Oh, you know, that's 0:12:50.840 --> 0:12:54.119 world ending for you. Come on, you know it's stereotypes 0:12:54.160 --> 0:12:58.280 can be funny sometimes and and sometimes they apply to us. Um, 0:12:58.440 --> 0:13:01.000 So you know, I just think people need to lighten up. 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:04.120 I think levity is really healthy, and self deprecating humor, 0:13:04.240 --> 0:13:07.000 especially kind of keeps keeps ourselves in check a little bit. 0:13:07.040 --> 0:13:09.000 So we poke it ourselves all the time. And that's 0:13:09.040 --> 0:13:11.280 one of the reasons to be was so refreshing to 0:13:11.320 --> 0:13:12.880 me and I wanted to get involved, is because I 0:13:12.880 --> 0:13:15.760 saw that self deprecating humor and thought it was really healthy. Yeah, 0:13:15.800 --> 0:13:18.360 it's hilarious. But why do you think that can't or 0:13:18.440 --> 0:13:20.520 doesn't seem to be able to exist as well in 0:13:20.600 --> 0:13:26.640 today's society. Uh. I think people a bit, especially young people, 0:13:27.160 --> 0:13:31.440 have been trained to find things offensive, you know, like 0:13:31.480 --> 0:13:34.559 we have we score points when we're offended for whatever reason. 0:13:34.559 --> 0:13:36.640 You know, you see all this virtue signaling that happens, 0:13:36.679 --> 0:13:38.400 And a lot of the virtue signaling comes from this 0:13:38.480 --> 0:13:41.400 like sanctimonious place of oh, look at me, I'm better 0:13:41.480 --> 0:13:43.760 than you. I I think this is offensive and you 0:13:43.840 --> 0:13:46.200 don't there for I'm a better person than you. Like, 0:13:46.280 --> 0:13:48.640 people have been trained to kind of think in those terms. 0:13:49.240 --> 0:13:51.960 And I think that's just like, first of all, it 0:13:51.960 --> 0:13:55.480 makes you terrible person, it makes you obnoxious, um, and 0:13:56.280 --> 0:14:00.719 it's just immoral. So I don't know, plus full so 0:14:00.800 --> 0:14:02.320 you add all that up and uh, and it's not 0:14:02.360 --> 0:14:04.880 a good idea to to train kids and young people 0:14:04.880 --> 0:14:06.640 to think that way. But but I think that is 0:14:06.679 --> 0:14:08.640 the reason that it's so hard. You know, like Jerry 0:14:08.679 --> 0:14:11.920 Seinfeld won't even do comedy shows on college campuses anymore 0:14:11.960 --> 0:14:15.000 because college kids are offended by everything. So, you know, 0:14:15.040 --> 0:14:17.520 it's a really sad commentary on on where we're at 0:14:17.840 --> 0:14:20.000 And I think that's what people don't understand sometimes is 0:14:20.080 --> 0:14:23.200 if they don't stand behind its sad hire like the 0:14:23.200 --> 0:14:25.200 Babylon b it's not just the babble and be. That 0:14:25.280 --> 0:14:28.560 kind of impact ripples down to all sorts of comedy, 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:30.680 ripples down to all sorts of speech. I mean, it's 0:14:30.680 --> 0:14:33.640 a much broader issue. Yet, Uh, you know a lot 0:14:33.680 --> 0:14:35.360 of people on the left don't seem to realize that, 0:14:35.680 --> 0:14:38.960 or maybe they do, I don't know. I mean I 0:14:39.000 --> 0:14:41.600 think they've maybe some of them realize it, but they 0:14:41.640 --> 0:14:44.160 think that they're safe because their speech won't be effective, 0:14:44.200 --> 0:14:47.360 because their speech is acceptable. Maybe, um, but maybe what 0:14:47.400 --> 0:14:50.320 they're not seeming to realize is that the standards are shifting, 0:14:50.360 --> 0:14:52.800 like every ten minutes, and whatever was acceptable that they 0:14:52.840 --> 0:14:57.200 were saying yesterday is no longer acceptable. Um. So once 0:14:57.240 --> 0:14:59.480 maybe they start to realize that, they'll realize that they've 0:14:59.480 --> 0:15:02.360 created a app for themselves. Well, and so you you 0:15:02.400 --> 0:15:05.200 guys have been the target. You know, as we've discussed before, 0:15:05.200 --> 0:15:08.280 you've been a big target of Big TEP. I mean 0:15:08.320 --> 0:15:12.480 they've suspended or demonetized you guys as well, which certainly 0:15:12.480 --> 0:15:15.360 puts your business at risk. What's it actually like to 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:21.160 be on the receiving end of those kinds of efforts. Um, 0:15:21.280 --> 0:15:23.400 what's it like in what sense? I mean, in one sense, 0:15:23.440 --> 0:15:26.600 I think it's encouraging. Um. You know, if you've got people, 0:15:27.200 --> 0:15:30.600 if you've got people attacking you from the left, then 0:15:30.640 --> 0:15:34.600 you've made the right enemies, right. UM. I think that 0:15:34.880 --> 0:15:38.040 I think that it's it's a good thing to be 0:15:38.120 --> 0:15:40.120 on the receiving end of some of that, just because 0:15:40.160 --> 0:15:41.840 it means that you're having an impact. That's one way 0:15:41.880 --> 0:15:44.440 of gauging your success in the culture battle. I think 0:15:45.000 --> 0:15:47.760 um as as difficult as it can be to deal with, 0:15:47.800 --> 0:15:51.080 to deal with like smears and negative criticism and whatever. Um, 0:15:51.120 --> 0:15:54.240 if you're not generating that, God forbid, they were praising us. 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.400 Imagine if The New York Times was praising us or 0:15:56.440 --> 0:15:59.200 CNN was praising us, Um, I'd be I'd be second 0:15:59.200 --> 0:16:04.280 guessing myself real quickly. So I welcome their criticism. But 0:16:04.680 --> 0:16:07.360 you know, what's what's challenging is just in this era 0:16:07.480 --> 0:16:10.360 that we're in where big tech has so much control 0:16:10.400 --> 0:16:12.160 and the media has so much control. You know, these 0:16:12.160 --> 0:16:15.440 are quote reliable sources that are out there smearing us, 0:16:15.520 --> 0:16:19.560 mischaracterizing us, um, calling us UM, you know, fake new 0:16:19.640 --> 0:16:24.720 fake satire, whatever that means, um and and spreading misinformation. 0:16:25.240 --> 0:16:27.120 You know, we're we're really in a situation where we're 0:16:27.120 --> 0:16:31.080 in an uphill battle where we're struggling to have uh, 0:16:31.160 --> 0:16:33.720 we're struggling for the right to be on these platforms 0:16:34.040 --> 0:16:38.520 and to defend ourselves against these attacks that are really baseless. 0:16:39.080 --> 0:16:41.320 But the whole system is rigged against us because you know, 0:16:41.360 --> 0:16:43.160 if the media can get this lie to stick that 0:16:43.200 --> 0:16:47.000 we're a misinformation site, a far right misinformation site, then 0:16:47.160 --> 0:16:48.920 you know, the social networks won't want anything to do 0:16:48.960 --> 0:16:51.800 with us. They're not gonna want us on their platforms. So, UM, 0:16:51.800 --> 0:16:54.640 it's a constant battle. So that that's that's difficult, but 0:16:54.680 --> 0:16:56.160 you know someone's got to be on the front lines 0:16:56.200 --> 0:16:58.400 fighting it, so might as well be us, Right. Do 0:16:58.440 --> 0:17:00.720 you know if The Onion has east any of that 0:17:00.800 --> 0:17:05.920 kind of censorship? Um, If if there's anything that's ever 0:17:06.040 --> 0:17:09.200 happened like them getting dinged on Facebook or something like that, 0:17:09.280 --> 0:17:12.800 I'm not aware of it. Um. I know for a 0:17:12.840 --> 0:17:14.679 fact that the way the media treats them, you know, 0:17:14.680 --> 0:17:18.199 the media never mischaracterizes them. Snopes will always when they 0:17:18.200 --> 0:17:20.800 fact check them, say the Onion is a funny satire site. 0:17:20.800 --> 0:17:22.639 You should laugh. In fact, they're the best and greatest 0:17:22.680 --> 0:17:26.000 satire site. Like it's always it's always understood that they're 0:17:26.040 --> 0:17:28.919 doing satire and comedy. It's never suggested that they have 0:17:29.000 --> 0:17:32.399 ill motives. So they're not in a situation where they 0:17:32.400 --> 0:17:34.560 would ever. I mean, look the New York Times piece 0:17:34.600 --> 0:17:36.639 that was just done done on us, that that called 0:17:36.680 --> 0:17:39.280 that said that we trafficked and misinformation. This is a 0:17:39.280 --> 0:17:42.520 couple of weeks ago, a few weeks ago. Um that 0:17:42.600 --> 0:17:46.560 piece was originally it was really about a left wing 0:17:46.680 --> 0:17:50.080 cartoonist who was sometimes misunderstood he did satire that was 0:17:50.160 --> 0:17:53.200 sometimes taken down off of Facebook because it was misunderstood 0:17:53.200 --> 0:17:57.639 as being real. Well, when we weren't cited as like 0:17:57.680 --> 0:18:01.399 a conservative example of that is that also happens to us. 0:18:01.520 --> 0:18:03.720 You know, instead of saying, oh, we are a conservative 0:18:03.720 --> 0:18:06.440 satire site that sometimes has their content taken down because 0:18:06.440 --> 0:18:09.480 people think it's real, it was. It was treated much differently. 0:18:09.520 --> 0:18:12.840 You know, they treated us as a far right misinformation 0:18:12.880 --> 0:18:16.560 site that somehow gets away with misleading people on these platforms. 0:18:17.040 --> 0:18:18.720 Um and Facebook needs to figure out what to do 0:18:18.760 --> 0:18:21.400 about that. And that's just that just goes to show 0:18:21.440 --> 0:18:24.520 you how, you know, how disingenuous and unfair they are, 0:18:24.560 --> 0:18:26.639 and how they treat the two different sides. You know, 0:18:26.680 --> 0:18:29.359 a left wing satirist is just a misunderstood satirist. A 0:18:29.440 --> 0:18:35.080 right wing satirist is a disinformation a deceptive deceiver, I'm sorry, 0:18:35.119 --> 0:18:39.480 a deceptive source of miss disinformation. Um. It's a mouthful 0:18:39.520 --> 0:18:43.160 to get out. UM. So you know, it's it's unfair 0:18:43.240 --> 0:18:45.239 the way that they do it, but UM, you know, 0:18:45.280 --> 0:18:47.840 obviously that's just the climate that we're dealing with. I mean, 0:18:47.880 --> 0:18:50.400 is it coordinated because it seems like, you know, you've 0:18:50.440 --> 0:18:52.920 got The New York Times attacking you, and O CNN 0:18:53.040 --> 0:18:56.240 has gone after you. Guys, you've got big tech targeting you. 0:18:56.320 --> 0:18:58.520 I mean, is it is there sort of like a 0:18:58.600 --> 0:19:01.520 sense that there's sort of this coordination involved in some 0:19:01.600 --> 0:19:04.800 of it. I don't know that like talking behind the scenes, 0:19:04.920 --> 0:19:07.720 but someone has definitely figured out that that's the way 0:19:07.720 --> 0:19:11.320 to get to to shut us up and shut us down. UM. 0:19:11.359 --> 0:19:14.120 You know, I think three years ago when Facebook really 0:19:14.119 --> 0:19:19.240 started getting serious about um, misinformation spreading and and thriving 0:19:19.240 --> 0:19:23.080 on their platform. Um, that's when this really started happening 0:19:23.119 --> 0:19:26.520 with originally with Snopes and so I think that they 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.200 just see an opportunity. They're like, look, these guys like 0:19:29.920 --> 0:19:33.159 they do fake news, they're trying to be satire. We 0:19:33.240 --> 0:19:36.520 could if we mischaracterize them as actual fake news, then 0:19:36.520 --> 0:19:38.560 we can shut them up. Um. I think it's just 0:19:38.600 --> 0:19:42.120 an obvious I think it's kind of brilliant actually as 0:19:42.119 --> 0:19:44.840 a tactic to to try to make that stick to us. 0:19:44.880 --> 0:19:47.600 But it's just based on nothing, and so they can't 0:19:47.800 --> 0:19:49.960 and they're frustrated. Do you feel like, do you think 0:19:49.960 --> 0:19:52.720 it's maybe because some of the headlines are a little 0:19:52.760 --> 0:19:54.399 too on the nose for them, like it brings a 0:19:54.400 --> 0:19:56.679 little discomfort, as you mentioned, to kind of put the 0:19:56.720 --> 0:20:00.280 mirror up and to take a look you. Yeah, I 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:02.040 think it's that they don't like the targets, right, the 0:20:02.040 --> 0:20:05.480 targets were aiming at. Um. What they'll say is that 0:20:05.560 --> 0:20:08.080