Is Texas really outlawing political memes? Not exactly. Here’s what’s really going on with HB 366

Meme lovers raged after the Texas House of Representatives passed a bill requiring disclaimers on digitally altered political media. Many internet users have declared that the state is attempting to outlaw memes, uniting the right and left against the measure. If it should become law after passing the House on Wednesday, violators could face up to a year behind bars.

Those on the left may be surprised to learn that although a Republican proposed the bill, it has widespread support among the state's Democrats. The legislation is narrower than many headlines and posts make it seem, only applying to those spending money on political advertising.

What is Texas HB 366, or the political meme bill?

House Bill 366, often referred to online as the Texas meme bill, was filed on Feb. 27, 2025, by Rep. Dade Phelan (R-T.X.). The law would require political ads using digitally altered media to display a label stating that it includes content that isn't real.

"A person may not cause to be published, distributed, or broadcast political advertising that includes an image, audio recording, or video recording of an officeholder's or candidate's appearance, speech, or conduct that did not occur in reality, including an image, audio recording, or video recording that has been altered using generative artificial intelligence technology, unless the political advertising includes a disclosure indicating that the image, audio recording, or video recording did not occur in reality," it reads.

Violation of this law would be a class-A misdemeanor. The House passed the bill on April 30 by a 102-40 vote, sending it to the Senate. Most of the opposition was from Republicans.

Phelan proposed the bill after surviving a far-right primary challenge backed by President Donald Trump in 2024. His opponents used deepfake technology to create fake video footage of him hugging former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi for an attack ad.

'A blatant assault on free speech'

Far-right Republicans were quick to deem this the "Texas political meme bill" and declare that it would outlaw all memes and end free speech forever.

"The Texas House passed a bill to CRIMINALIZE POLITICAL MEMES," said X user @Carlos__Turcios in a viral post. "House Bill 366 would LOCK UP ANYONE FOR A YEAR unless political memes or altered media have a gov disclaimer. Why is TEXAS DOING THIS?!"

While this certainly sounds bad, Community Notes soon added a few key details.

"HB366 requires political ads with altered media to include a disclosure stating the content isn’t real," the approved note reads. "Applies to political ads, not all social media posts or memes."

Additionally, the law would only apply to content created by an officeholder, candidate, or political committee that spent more than $100 on political ads during a reported period. Any random social media user posting a Photoshopped meme need not fear jail time.

That hasn't stopped politicians from promoting fake information about the bill, however.

"Dade Phelan’s so-called ‘meme bill’ is a blatant assault on free speech and a disgrace coming from a supposed Republican," said Republican Senate candidate Alexander Duncan. "This unconstitutional attempt to criminalize political expression has NO place in Texas—a state that cherishes freedom and the Constitution. We must reject this abomination and stand firm for our First Amendment rights!"

The left is falling for it

Although many liberals and leftists previously called for legislation to combat issues related to deepfakes, some of them appear to have fallen for the right-wing framing on the "Texas meme bill."

"The Texas House of Representatives Passed Bill 366 criminalizing political memes without government approved disclaimer. The bill passed in a quick vote without debate," said pro-Palestine X user @GenXGirl1994. "Another attack on 1st Amendment."

Over on Bluesky, where many left-wing users fled to from Elon Musk's site, the sentiment is similar.

"Authoritarians hate laughter and now in Texas, they want to jail you for it," wrote popular resistance user @andreadevon.bsky.social‬. "The Texas House just passed a bill that could land you behind bars for posting political memes without a government approved disclaimer."

"The Texas House of Representatives has passed a bill aimed at criminalizing political memes," wrote @mickeykuhns.bsky.social‬. "The bill, HB 366, would imprison offenders for a minimum of one year if the meme does not have a government-approved disclaimer."

"THE AMERICA WE KNEW IS NO MORE."

The punishment would be a maximum of one year's imprisonment, not a minimum.

Although some Bluesky commenters have attempted to correct these users about the bill, the vast majority take the posts' content as the whole truth.

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