Babylon Bee CEO discusses free speech, censorship and satire at NDSU

Seth Dillon, CEO of the satirical news website The Babylon Bee, spoke about free speech, censorship and the role of humor in public discourse during an event Wednesday, Nov. 4, at North Dakota State University.

The presentation, titled "No Joke: Free Speech, Censorship, and Building the Babylon Bee," was held in the Oceti Sakowin Ballroom in the Memorial Union. The event was part of the Menard Family Distinguished Speaker Series, hosted by NDSU's Sheila and Robert Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth and co-sponsored by Young America's Foundation.

John Bitzan, director of the Challey Institute, introduced Dillon and emphasized the importance of discussing free speech, censorship and civil discourse.

"It's important to talk about civil discourse, the importance of free speech, the dangers of censorship, being able to laugh at ourselves, make fun of ourselves," Bitzan said.

Dillon began by discussing the origins of The Babylon Bee, a website founded in 2016 that publishes satirical articles modeled after traditional news reporting. He explained that the publication was created to offer humor from a Christian conservative perspective, which he believed was underrepresented in mainstream comedy.

Dillon became involved with the publication in 2018 after approaching its founder, Adam Ford, about supporting the growing website. He eventually took over the company and began addressing concerns about how social media platforms treated satirical content.

Throughout his presentation, Dillon argued that satire serves a purpose beyond entertainment by encouraging people to question widely accepted ideas.

"Satire ridicules bad ideas so that they aren't taken seriously," Dillon said.

He explained that the publication's approach involves using humor to challenge political, cultural and social beliefs that its writers disagree with. Dillon acknowledged that audiences may have different interpretations of which ideas deserve criticism.

"We can disagree about what those bad ideas are," Dillon said. "You can start your own satire site if you want to and make fun of my ideas and how bad they are. That's free speech at work."

One of the central topics of Dillon's presentation was The Babylon Bee's experience with content moderation on social media.

Dillon described a 2022 incident in which Twitter locked The Babylon Bee's account after the publication named Rachel Levine, a transgender official in the Biden administration, its “Man of the Year” in a satirical post.

According to Dillon, Twitter determined that the post violated its hateful conduct policy and required the publication to delete it before regaining access to its account.

Dillon said the publication refused to remove the post, despite the potential consequences for its business.

He explained that social media platforms were an important source of website traffic and advertising revenue, making the suspension a significant challenge for the company.

Dillon used the incident to distinguish between what he described as two forms of censorship: direct restrictions on speech and self-censorship motivated by fear of potential consequences.

"There's the hard censorship, which is them not liking your content, taking it down, and soft censorship, which is far more prevalent," Dillon said.

He argued that individuals may choose not to express certain opinions because they fear losing access to online platforms or facing criticism. The incident also became part of Dillon's discussion about Elon Musk's acquisition of Twitter, now known as X.

According to Dillon, Musk contacted The Babylon Bee after learning about its suspension. The publication's account was later reinstated following Musk's acquisition of Twitter in 2022. Although Dillon praised Musk's approach to free speech, he acknowledged that allowing broader expression online also creates opportunities for people to publish offensive or hateful content.

"The downside of free speech is, of course, there are going to be people who abuse it to say terrible things," Dillon said.

Dillon also addressed contemporary political and cultural issues throughout his presentation, including gender identity, political ideology and the role of comedy in public debate. He frequently used examples from The Babylon Bee to explain how the publication approaches controversial topics from its conservative perspective.

Following Dillon's presentation and an onstage discussion, audience members had the opportunity to ask questions about his views and experiences.

One attendee questioned where the boundary should exist between using satire to criticize ideas and using humor in ways that deliberately hurt others. The attendee asked how society could discourage harmful speech without relying on censorship.

Dillon responded that he believes there is a distinction between criticizing an idea and intentionally making someone feel bad about themselves.

"The purpose, the intent that's there that I'm talking about is not to be mean and cruel," Dillon said. "It's to communicate some truth about what we think is a bad idea."

He acknowledged that people may still find criticism offensive, particularly when it challenges their personal beliefs.

Another audience member asked whether satire could help reduce political polarization and encourage dialogue between people with different viewpoints.

Dillon said humor has the potential to bring people together but acknowledged that jokes directed at opposing political groups can also create division.

"I think it can be. I don't think that it always is," Dillon said.

He explained that people's willingness to laugh at themselves or their own beliefs can influence whether humor encourages understanding or reinforces disagreements.

The event concluded with an audience discussion about the role of satire in political and cultural conversations. The Challey Institute served appetizers and refreshments after.

The Menard Family Distinguished Speaker Series brings speakers to NDSU to discuss topics related to human progress, economic opportunity and issues affecting society. The series is supported by the Challey Institute through a gift from the Menard family.