News by email Donate

Suggestions

Top Stories

Most Read

Popular Videos

Babylon-Bee-logo-main_article_image.jpg
Babylon Bee/Twitter
World News

Fact-checking website cracks down on Christian satire site Babylon Bee

by Tola Mbakwe

Snopes recently published an article entitled "Too Many People Think Satirical News Is Real".

In it, the writers talk about a survey they conducted on what Americans' views are on high-profile political issues.

They said: "We identified news stories - both true and false - that were being shared widely on social media.

"We discovered that many of the false stories weren't the kind that were trying to intentionally deceive their readers; they actually came from satirical sites and many people seemed to believe them."

The Ohio State University researchers asked a sample of 800 Americans whether they believed 120 "widely shared falsehoods."

The study revealed that "stories published by The Bee were among the most shared, factually inaccurate content in almost every survey we conducted".

It also found that Republicans were more likely to think that Babylon Bee articles were not satire.

The writers added: "Of the 23 falsehoods that came from The Bee, eight were confidently believed by at least 15 percent of Republican respondents."

Kyle Mann, editor-in-chief of the Babylon Bee, criticised the research on Twitter, saying the study was not conducted in a way that would produce accurate results.

Conservative news website Red State also backed Babylon Bee, claiming Snopes is attacking the site because of the kind of satire it produces.

"It appears that Snopes' real problem with The Babylon Bee is not that they don't understand satire, but that The Babylon Bee's particular brand of satire - coming from a Christian, conservative perspective - annoys them.

"They haven't engaged in a vigorous, scorched-earth fact-checking of Saturday Night Live, The Daily Show, or Real Time with Bill Maher, or any number of liberal-leaning comedy shows and websites."

Stay up to date with the latest news stories from a Christian perspective. Sign up to our daily newsletter and receive more stories like this straight to your inbox every morning.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate