Some have speculated about whether a Musk-owned Twitter would allow the former president to return to the platform.
Following Trump’s ban from Twitter, a widespread outcry arose among the political right, with many alleging an anti-conservative bias from Twitter and other social platforms’ policing of harmful content, as well as what algorithms show in newsfeeds.
While a 2021 study found that anti-conservative bias on social media platforms “is itself a form of disinformation: a falsehood with no reliable evidence to support it,” widespread belief in this bias has persisted, with a number of conservative voices using their flagged content as confirmation.
More recently, Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee, of which Musk is an avid fan, had their Twitter account locked after tweeting a link to a story that dubbed U.S. Assistant Secretary for Health Dr. Rachel Levine with the title “The Babylon Bee’s Man of the Year.” Levine is a transgender woman.
RELATED: The Babylon Bee Criticized for Anti-Asian Racism
Twitter notified The Babylon Bee that the tweet violated their community standards, saying, “You may no 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.”
“Truth is not hate speech. If the cost of telling the truth is the loss of our Twitter account, then so be it,” The Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillion said in response to the Twitter ban. “Never censor yourself. Insist that 2 and 2 make 4 even if Twitter tries to compel you to say otherwise. Make them ban tens of millions of us.”
A number of conservatives had expressed excitement at the prospect of Musk taking over Twitter, with some taunting those on the political left.
“Blue checkmark liberals who are threatening to leave Twitter, aren’t actually going to leave Twitter. As they say in Texas, ‘They’re all hat and no cattle.’ They’re not going to leave because no other platform satiates their narcissistic craving for attention,” tweeted dean of social media for “Grace To You” Darrell B. Harrison. His comments come against the backdrop of a flood of tweets wherein previously avid Twitter users have threatened to leave the platform should Musk gain control.
Following the announcement of Musk’s offer to buy Twitter, The Babylon Bee released a satirical video wherein a liberal Twitter employee has a mental breakdown at the mere thought of Musk owning the company.
RELATED: The Babylon Bee Founder, Editor-in-Chief Locked Out of Twitter for ‘Hateful Conduct’
“Twitter is about to get even more interesting,” said Tennessee pastor Erik Reed.
