Is The Babylon Bee Actually Satanic?

There is an Atlantic article this month that chronicles author Emma Green’s interview with Kyle Mann, the managing editor of the Babylon Bee. The title, The Christians Who Mock Wokeness for a Living, explains to Ms. Green’s audience what the article is intended to do: chastise America’s new newspaper of record for being rather un-Christian. What it actually does is prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that the left has absolutely no sense of humor… 

“Everything that we see is a shadow cast by that which we do not see.” – Martin Luther King

…at least when the joke is on them. This excerpt is quite self explanatory, although the author repeatedly demands an explanation.

Green: You guys wrote an article in January 2020 that was shared roughly 3 million times, claiming that Democrats called for the American flag to be flown at half-staff when the Iranian general Qasem Soleimani was killed in an American strike. What makes this funny? I know that’s the worst question to ask somebody who writes jokes.

Mann: It’s funny because General Soleimani died and then they called for flags to be flown at half-mast. Get it?

Green: But that’s what I’m saying. Besides just saying the joke again, what makes it funny?

Mann: Do you want me to explain the joke to you? Because the joke is that General Soleimani died and Democrats were sad.

If you don’t know why that’s funny, then you’re not the audience for the joke. The funniest part is that it got fact-checked because it was so believable that Democrats would do that. That’s a real honor.

Green: …But I want to ask about the fact-checking part. I don’t think the reason Snopes fact-checked it was because it was so plausible. I think it’s because it was being shared millions of times. What if people did believe it was real? Do you worry about that, regardless of how many times you make it clear that you’re a satire publication?…Does that impose any ethical responsibility on you?

Mann’s answer is my favorite part of the entire piece:

Mann: Not any more than any other comedian whose joke gets mistaken for reality. Does SNL bear responsibility because people still think Sarah Palin said she could see Russia from her house?

And because it is Caturday, I add this bonus feature direct from the satanic Babylon Bee itself: Is Your Cat Actually Satan? 9 Things To Look For.