Suggest women aren’t funny and you’ll be quickly attacked, if not outright canceled.
Podcast giant Adam Carolla found that out the hard way.
Say that conservatives lack a sense of humor, though, and there’s little to no outrage. After all, the comedian class is overwhelmingly left of center. There’s no current late night show that leans remotely to the right. And, as liberal critics giddily point out, Fox News’ attempt to create such a program died a quick, merciful death.
There’s another reason so few conservatives make us laugh. They face industry-wide condemnation for telling right-leaning jokes.
Just ask Michael Loftus, who shared a chilling story about his scotched plan for a fair and balanced talk show. Or check in with Steve McGrew, who lost a critical gig for supporting President Donald Trump.
The Deplorables have a few more stories to tell you about industry blacklisting.
It’s why the best conservative comedy today is found at the digital margins. Think podcasting (“Louder with Crowder,” “The Andrew Klavan Show,” “The Anthony Cumia Show”), YouTube (Adam Yenser’s “The Cancelled News” and Ryan Long’s comedy shorts) and Twitter (@hale_razor, @iowahawkblog).
“I, for one, welcome our benevolent list-creating, dissent-crushing Socialist overlords.”
— Razor (@hale_razor) November 7, 2020
Big Tech doesn’t want conservative comedy on its turf, either.
The social media giants already censor right-leaning views, a trend which went nuclear in the weeks leading up to the presidential election.
Now, they’re ramping up their efforts to make sure liberal targets aren’t exposed to satire.
The Babylon Bee, a faith-friendly parody site, delivers consistently hilarious “news” that mostly mocks the Left.
TheBabylonBee parleyed.
— The Babylon Bee TheBabylonBee Tuesday, December 8, 2020
It’s also constantly under assault by both Facebook and the mainstream media. The former routinely lashes out at the Bee’s Facebook page, threatening to throttle its reach, demonitize it or simply crush it.
Facebook once suggested Bee humor could “incite violence.” It’s not funny to The Babylon Bee, which receives a sizable portion of its web traffic from Facebook. The social media giant’s repeated attacks on the Bee represent an existential threat to its business model.
Sites like Snopes.com also fact-check The Bee’s parodies, a practice they rarely, if ever, deploy on fellow news parody site The Onion. USA Today similarly fact-checked The Bee, an absurdity too outrageous to even satire.
The Bee also faces opposition from Twitter, which temporarily suspended the site’s account earlier this year.
That’s just the beginning.
Comedian Nick Di Paolo’s robust YouTube flock suffered last month when the platform gave him a week-long time out for cracking wise about COVID-19.
Apolitical comic Ryan Long, who skewers woke culture, recently got pummeled by both Instagram and TikTok. The social media giants removed a Long comedy short mocking those who attack “white males,” an obviously bigoted position that’s ripe for parody.
The short in no way violated the platforms’ community standards.
- No nudity
- No violence
- No calling out anyone by name in a defamatory fashion
You can find far more incendiary, and adult, material flourishing on both Big Tech sites in just seconds. Long’s satirical video got yanked anyway.
More recently, comedian J.P. Sears announced Facebook is threatening to boot him from the platform for violating “community standards.” That’s the phrase many Big Tech companies use, a generic term that often doesn’t include the specific reasons for the punishment.
Sears’ crime? It’s likely Facebook wants to ban him for mocking COVID-19 restrictions.
Sears, whose comic persona is a New Age-style hippie, increasingly taunts woke culture and the Left. He currently has more than 2.7 million Facebook followers, a sizable group which allows him to carve out a comedy career by reaching fans with a few simple clicks.
He might not have that luxury much longer.
In real life, Sears understands he poses a threat to both Big Tech and the censorial Left. It’s why he joined Parler, a Twitter-like portal that vows to let free speech reign supreme.
Because there is massive censorship happening on the major platforms, I have just joined Parler. Please follow me there as it’s censorship free and I’ll be speaking my mind 100% freely!https://t.co/qEZu263TXM pic.twitter.com/12IA35Cpyu
— JP Sears (@AwakenWithJP) November 15, 2020
I will not back down from Tyrrany Facebook. I will without question risk losing what I have in the name of freedom. And I know many others are doing the same. I will keep going ?? #FreedomFromFear
— JP Sears AwakenWithJP Tuesday, December 8, 2020
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon shared why Big Tech censorship is so devastating to American culture during an interview with Fox News.
Censorship takes many forms today, but big tech censorship is particularly concerning because these companies control so much of the flow of information. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter are where most people get their news, and it’s where they go to engage in debate. By controlling what can be said, and what you see, they’re able to shape public opinion and silence voices that have a right to be heard. That’s bad for everyone.
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