Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, which is a Christian/Conservative site that uses satire to skewer liberal targets, has sent a message to his readers that could apply equally as well to readers of The BFD.
Big Tech censorship is not a myth or right-wing talking point. It’s always been real, and it’s always been a threat. As a conservative site that often takes aim at liberal targets, we’ve felt vulnerable to censorship for quite some time […] Several suspensions, policy violation notices, and threats of demonetization have validated our concerns.
But the rise of alternative platforms brought some hope. Parler, for example, promised to be a place where conservatives would always be welcome. We took some comfort in that, and began growing a following there. As of this past weekend, we had amassed 1.2 million followers on Parler.
Then came the incident at the Capitol, after which Trump was banned from social media and Parler became a scapegoat. Apple and Google removed the top-ranked Parler app from their stores and Amazon pulled the plug on Parler’s servers, instantly cutting The Babylon Bee’s access to our largest social media audience. And Parler can’t easily set up shop somewhere else. Amazon offers services that are hard to replace, and so far every company Parler has turned to has declined to host their platform.
It is not hyperbole when we say this is a big deal. It’s huge. We are heading in a bad direction, and we’re heading there at lightning speed. Parler did nothing but host a site where conservatives congregate and speak freely. If that’s beyond the pale, no conservative sites are safe.
Even the email service we’re using to send you this message (Mailchimp) is a point of vulnerability for us. Mailchimp recently updated their terms of service to say they will permanently ban accounts that distribute false or misleading information. How fairly do you think we’ll be judged on that policy? Without new legislation to protect our rights, our days on this platform—just like the rest—are numbered.
The FREE daily newsletter that The BFD provides to all interested readers is sent via Mailchimp. Just like The Babylon Bee, that service has now become a point of vulnerability for us.
Again, this is not hyperbole. Left-run Big Tech companies are selectively enforcing their policies to silence political opposition on a grand scale. They’re doing it blatantly, right out in the open. And they’re doing it with impunity. It doesn’t end with Trump and Parler—it begins with them. Anyone who tells you otherwise is naïve.
So what can you do about it?
If you value The BFD and want to see us prevail in the face of Big Tech censorship, please consider becoming a subscriber. Your support will make a difference.
If you are not already aware we built our own social network that we called MyBFD and we’d love to see you join it.
All subscribers to The BFD (apart from those who only have a Basic subscription) have access to MyBFD. Paying a membership fee is a small price to pay for a social experience that doesn’t exploit your data or censor you.
Due to the looming threat of Big Tech censorship, we have decided to expand the functionality of MyBFD and to that end develop an app for it.
Fortunately, the platform we use for MyBFD has a developer service to do everything for us in tailoring and developing and then launching the app on Apple and Google Play stores. It will cost US$4,375 to build and finalise approvals for both app stores but ultimately we would want to provide a way to download outside of the app store as well.
The app would enable our members to connect under our own brand from anywhere they are without being beholden to Big Tech and the new censorious world we live in. It would create our “safe space”.
If you haven’t already subscribed to The BFD please consider doing so today or donate to our app development fund.
Thank you so much for your loyal readership and support.
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