Conservative satire outlet censored by Elon Musk-rival Bluesky: 'Chilling reminder'

Babylon Bee editor-in-chief Kyle Mann told Fox News Digital that Bluesky's decision to censor their content is a "chilling reminder" of what the social media landscape would look like if Elon Musk had not bought Twitter.

The Babylon Bee was suspended from Twitter in 2022 for posting a satirical article calling Adm. Rachel Levine, a Biden administration Cabinet member and a transgender woman, the "man of the year."

Bluesky has a similar layout to X but operates on an "authenticated transfer protocol" that creators say allows users more control over what content they access than platforms that operate on a single algorithm.

Bluesky's website states that "our online experience doesn't have to depend on billionaires unilaterally making decisions over what we see" and "on an open social network like Bluesky, you can shape your experience for yourself."

The satire site's creators have now tried reposting the article four times, with each attempt having a similar result.

According to Bluesky's community guidelines, the platform bans "gender identity-based harassment" and anything "promoting hate or extremist conduct that targets people or groups based on their race, gender, religion, ethnicity, nationality, disability, or sexual orientation."

Mann, however, said that "it's ironic that the platform championing tolerance and freedom from Musk's influence is itself so intolerant of differing views."

He explained that the outlet "thought it was only fitting to debut the Bee's account on Bluesky with the article that famously got us banned from Twitter" and that the result highlights the need for Musk's prioritization of free speech on X.

"Bluesky's censorship policies are eerily reminiscent of the status quo on Twitter before Elon Musk took over," he said. "It's chilling to think about what freedom of speech might look like right now in the United States if Musk hadn't stepped up and freed us from the Twitter tyrants."