The Montgomery-based Southern Poverty Law Center is once again the focal point of controversy after it was revealed that the organization is doxing at least fourteen ‘Not the Bee’ writers in an expected ‘hit piece’ as part of a ‘Data Lab investigation.’
On Tuesday, billionaire and co-head of the new Department on Government Efficiency, Elon Musk weighed in on the news calling the SPLC a ‘criminal organization.’
The Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) is a criminal organization imo https://t.co/zWcWaUaCkO
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) November 19, 2024
It’s not the first time that Musk has been openly-critical of the SPLC. In March, he labeled it a ‘scam.’
Southern Poverty Law Center is a scam https://t.co/YkghIPblaY
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 7, 2024
According to Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, “journalists” with the SPLC have begun reaching out to writers from the satirical news source who have until now remained anonymous.
“The discredited, scandal-ridden smear factory known as the SPLC is about to publish a hit piece doxxing several of our “Not the Bee” writers who wished to remain anonymous so they could speak freely, without fear,” said Dillon. “The SPLC extracted sensitive information from our site, then used that information to contact our writers directly. I’ve included a screenshot of one of these emails below.”
“We’re determining how they obtained this information, but we already know why they went digging for it. They did it because they’re left-wing activists masquerading as journalists. They did it because they lack principles.”
RELATED: SPLC lays off more than 60 employees despite $1 billion+ ‘in reserves’
The SPLC offered the following description and justification for its doxing campaign.
“An SPLC Data Lab investigation of anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-immigrant content on The Babylon Bee and its sister site, Not the Bee, has uncovered multiple controversial businesses formerly run by owner Seth Dillon, along with the identities of 14 pseudonymous Not the Bee writers, despite the website’s efforts to keep information secure.”
“The Babylon Bee is a right-wing satire site that borrows a format from the satirical news outlet The Onion while amplifying far-right rhetoric and disinformation. Its sister site, Not the Bee, is a junk-news site with salacious headlines about culture-war issues designed to stir up right-wing outrage. ”
The Southern Poverty Law Center often makes the news because of controversies inside of the organization. Reporting published in 2020 by the Washington Free Beacon painted a picture of an SPLC in disarray.
According to the news source, the Center paid co-founder Morris Dees, former SPLC president Richard Cohen, and former legal director Rhonda Brownstein six-figure severance packages after accusations of sexual harassment by Dees and assertions of racial discrimination by the staff at large forced them to quit.
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
