Meta's announcement on free speech has given Babylon Bee CEO hope for its flourishing.

Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, praised Meta's decision to eliminate its fact-checkers, stating that it was a triumph for free speech that he wished had occurred earlier.

Dillon expressed his view that Mark Zuckerberg's decision to introduce a "community notes" feature on Instagram and Facebook is a positive step, following Elon Musk's lead.

"It's never too late to do the right thing, but the time for Zuckerberg to take a stand for free speech was when the entire internet was de-platforming the sitting president," Dillon said, referring to social media platforms that banned Trump in 2021.

"Is it better late than never? Sure. But he missed an opportunity and has not yet acknowledged his role in the mistake," he said.

Last week, Zuckerberg declared that significant alterations would be implemented to enhance "free expression" on Facebook's social media platforms.

"Zuckerberg announced that the company will focus on reducing mistakes, simplifying policies, and restoring free expression on its platforms. In particular, fact-checkers will be eliminated and replaced with Community Notes similar to X, beginning in the U.S."

Meta's third-party fact-checkers, who were brought on board after President-elect Trump's election in 2016, were found to be "too politically biased" and ultimately "destroyed more trust than they created."

The Babylon Bee, a satirical website that produces humorous fake news stories, frequently faced scrutiny from fact-checkers, especially when it made light of liberal media outlets or Democratic politicians.

Dillon revealed to Planet Chronicle Digital that CNN had acquired an industrial-sized washing machine to spin the news before publishing it, as per a "silly joke" by The Bee in 2018, which was fact-checked by Snopes.

In a 2019 report, it was revealed that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., appeared on the TV show "The Price is Right" and incorrectly guessed that all items were free.

Despite Dillon's claims, their articles were still being flagged by third-party fact-checkers, which led Facebook to threaten to demonetize or ban their account.

""Satire is not allowed on these platforms because we can't even make fake funny stories. We're literally making up fake news and publishing it on social media. That's our business model. And if we can't even make jokes, then satire is out of the question," Dillon said."

He initially thought fact-checkers were just "humorless scolds" who didn't appreciate their jokes, but later realized they were opposed to the truth behind their jokes.

Dillon stated that the stories we tell are fabricated, but they contain a grain of truth. These satirical news reports are humorous because they have some truth to them, even though the details of the story are false. The threat lies in the truth that they expose, which challenges the narrative or exposes foolishness and double standards that people don't want to be exposed.

The fact-checking effort was part of the censorship apparatus to shut down dissent and categorize speech into little buckets where they can enforce their policies and deplatform and silence people who are simply saying things that they don't want to be said in a way that they don't want them to be said.

The Bee has consistently defended itself against accusations from media fact-checkers that it intentionally spreads false information to deceive its audience.

In 2021, the New York Times corrected a story that initially accused the Bee of spreading false information.

Dillon views Meta's recent action as part of a broader cultural shift towards greater freedom of expression and less censorship, which has been influenced by Elon Musk's takeover of X, Twitter, in 2022, and his subsequent reinstatement of the Babylon Bee, Trump, and other suspended accounts.

The Twitter Files revealed the extent of the manipulation and control exerted by cultural and institutional political power over Americans' thoughts, expressions, and beliefs. This has led to a growing sense of frustration and resistance among the public.

Dillon believes that it doesn't matter if Zuckerberg's motive was political or sincere, as long as the changes on Meta's platforms result in more voices being heard.

"He stated, "This is how you counteract negative thoughts," adding, "We're fed up with good ideas being overlooked.""

Dillon expressed cautious optimism that the trend towards more free speech will persist in 2025.

Meta did not return a request for comment.