Trump Retweets a Bogus Story About Twitter

President pushes fake story from Babylon Bee, which often mocks liberals
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Oct 16, 2020 8:44 AM CDT
Trump Retweets Biden Story From Satirical Site
President Trump speaks during a campaign rally in Greenville, N.C., Thursday, Oct. 15, 2020.   (AP Photo/Karl DeBlaker)

President Trump did a familiar thing Friday morning: He retweeted a story critical of both Twitter and Joe Biden. This retweet is a little different, however, because the story comes from the satirical site the Babylon Bee, whose motto is "fake news you can trust." The bogus story is headlined, "Twitter Shuts Down Entire Network To Slow Spread Of Negative Biden News," and the headline caught the president's attention: "Wow, this has never been done in history," Trump wrote. "This includes his really bad interview last night. Why is Twitter doing this. Bringing more attention to Sleepy Joe & Big T." The Bee's chief executive seemed to relish the development: "The Babylon Bee is the president’s most trusted news source," Seth Dillon tweeted, with a link to Trump's post.

The satirical story appears to be playing off a controversy from Thursday, when Twitter took flak for restricting a New York Post story critical of Biden. Politico notes that Trump appeared to take the Bee story at face value, but things get a little murkier if you read a New York Times feature about the site from earlier this week. “He does know it’s satire," editor in chief Kyle Mann tells the Times. "We are assured." (This isn't the first time the president has tweeted a link.) The story explains that the Bee's satire is most often turned against liberals. In fact, it's been described as a conservative version of the Onion, per USA Today. "The things we see as most absurd, the bad ideas most deserving of ridicule tend to be ideas on the left," says Dillon. Another Friday headline on the site: "Democrats Hiss in Terror As ACB (Amy Coney Barrett) Pulls Out a Crucifix." (More President Trump stories.)

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