Renata Kiss
Renata Kiss is a news analyst at MRC’s Free Speech America and MRC Business. She previously wrote for The Washington Stand, Family Research Council’s news and commentary outlet. When not writing, Renata enjoys the outdoors, museums, and taking photos when inspiration strikes.
Seth Dillon hit the nail on the head when he called out hypocritical defences of online COVID-19 censorship.
Seth Dillon, CEO of the satire site The Babylon Bee, smashed the liberal logic of censoring COVID-19 content. He pointed out in a tweet Thursday that the continuously shifting goal posts for so-called misinformation are no excuse for censorship.
“I’ve been told that censorship of COVID ‘misinformation’ that later turned out to be true was justified because it was based on what we knew at the time. But that’s not a defence of censorship. In fact, it’s a knock-down argument against it,” he said.
Dillon highlighted that rapidly changing knowledge and growing scientific discovery illustrate the need for open debate not more censorship.
“If knowledge changes over time, then the last thing we should do is act like it doesn’t by banning anyone who dissents. If it’s even possible that what we presently think we know isn’t true, then anyone who actually cares about the truth will insist on leaving matters open for debate,” Dillon said.
He went on to say that the argument for censorship is not only illogical but also hypocritical, “[Y]ou can’t defend censorship while conceding that knowledge changes or increases over time. The decision to censor assumes that knowledge will *not* increase or change over time,” he explained. He called the assumption “counter-productive” and said “[i]t erodes trust and stifles the very debate that’s needed to get us to the truth faster.”
Twitter blocked Dillon’s satirical news outlet, The Babylon Bee, for almost eight months last year after it named transgender Health and Human Services assistant secretary Dr. Rachel Levine “Man of the Year.” Current Twitter owner Elon Musk reinstated the account in November 2022.
The Babylon Bee is a member of the Free Speech Alliance.
