New York Times admits Babylon Bee is satire, not 'misinformation,' in correction

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Media top headlines June 14

MSNBC’s Joy Reid getting slammed for claiming students learn ‘Confederate Race Theory,’ an NPR TV critic doubling down on an op-ed urging Tom Hanks to be ‘anti-racist,’ and Biden muttering that he’ll get into trouble with his staff round out today’s top media headlines

The New York Times issued a correction after initially claiming the satirical website The Babylon Bee "trafficked in misinformation," and the liberal paper now admits the site simply publishes satire. 

Fox News first reported earlier this year that Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon was considering legal action after the Times labeled the popular site of peddling fake news "under the guise of satire" and referred to it as a "misinformation" site. 

Dillon took to Twitter on Monday with an update after the Times emailed his attorney Friday that it would remove the offending language. 

BABYLON BEE CONSIDERS LEGAL ACTION AGAINST NY TIMES FOR CALLING SATIRE SITE 'MISINFORMATION'

In the email, Times senior counsel Dana R. Green informed the Babylon Bee that the reference was removed and a correction was added after "careful review" of the concerns raised by the satirical site. 

'BABYLON BEE' CEO: 'HOW FUNNY IS IT THAT CNN IS COMING AFTER US FOR SPREADING DISINFORMATION?'

The Times story now features a correction, "An earlier version of this article referred imprecisely to the Babylon Bee, a right-leaning satirical website, and a controversy regarding the handling of its content by Facebook and the fact-checking site Snopes. While both Facebook and Snopes previously have classified some Babylon Bee articles as misinformation, rather than satire, they have dropped those claims, and the Babylon Bee denies that it has trafficked in misinformation." 

The Times confirmed the authenticity of the letter published by Dillon but declined additional comment.  

"This is huge. The NY Times was using misinformation to smear us as being a source of it. That's not merely ironic; it's malicious. We pushed back hard and won. Thanks to everyone who voiced and offered their support. We don't have to take this nonsense lying down. Remember that," Dillon tweeted. 

Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon was considering legal action after the New York Times labeled the popular satirical website of peddling fake news "under the guise of satire" and referred to it as a "misinformation" site. 

Dillon did not immediately respond when asked if he would still consider legal action against the Times. 

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The Bee irks liberals on a regular basis with headlines that poke fun at the left, a rarity in the media landscape. Recent headlines published by the Bee include "Biden Cuts Hole In Mask So He Can Still Sniff People's Hair" and "CNN Hires Trump As News Anchor To Recover Lost Viewers."

Dillon previously told Fox News that it’s ironic that the same media outlets that condemn misinformation don’t practice what they preach.

"They're using misinformation to smear us as being a source of misinformation," Dillon said. "They are, in fact the ones trafficking in misinformation under the guise of journalism."