Babylon Bee sues New Mexico officials over law requiring AI disclaimers on political satire

FIRST ON FOX — Should political satire come with a warning label?

A New Mexico law requiring disclaimers on certain AI-generated political content, including parody and satire, is being challenged in court by Christian satire news site The Babylon Bee. 

HB 182, passed in 2024, amended New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act to add disclosure requirements for political advertisements containing what the law defines as "materially deceptive media." The law mandates that relevant images, video or audio manipulated or created through artificial intelligence must display a prominent AI disclaimer identifying the content as created or manipulated by artificial intelligence.

The Bee, which frequently pokes fun at political candidates and issues, argues the state law violates fundamental free speech rights and due process. 

On Tuesday, the humor site filed a lawsuit against state officials, with the help of the legal organization Alliance Defending Freedom ("ADF"), arguing that the law chills their speech and destroys the intent of comedy.

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"This disclaimer alters the content of the satire and parody The Bee wants to express by alerting the viewer to the satirical or parodical nature of the communication and thereby depriving the expression of its rhetorical force," the complaint states. "Put simply, HB 182 spoils the joke as it begins, each and every time." The website says it is not willing to publish content with the mandated label because it would alter its message.

Seth Dillon, CEO of The Babylon Bee, told Fox News Digital that the law's disclosure requirement imposes a "deeper problem" of compelled speech.

"New Mexico is stuffing words into our mouths, forcing us to say things we wouldn’t say otherwise," he explained.

Just this past week, the Bee posted a satirical AI-generated travel advertisement mocking the Democratic "utopia" of New Mexico and the state's Supreme Court justice David K. Thomson, who will appear on the November ballot. In the fake advertisement, an AI-generated video of Thomson announces the court rules "against the Second Amendment, the First Amendment or any other amendment that lets people do things."

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The Bee argued it intends to create content with AI that parodies or satirizes other candidates or ballot questions in the state's elections. Dillon said, though they have not faced penalties yet, they are suing preemptively to protect their rights.

"The concern is real, but we don't censor ourselves," Dillon told Fox News Digital. "If a joke we want to tell is likely to violate the law, we'll tell it, anyway — both because we have a right to, and we refuse to do the tyrant's work for him. If penalties are imposed, we'll sue to defend our rights. In this case, we're suing preemptively to settle the matter before it escalates to that point."

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The Bee and ADF also argue the law discriminates based on content, by giving a blanket exemption for content appearing in news stories or editorials while entertainment, satire, parody, cartoons and memes are restricted.

The complaint names the seven members of the New Mexico Ethics Commission, which enforces the challenged provisions, as defendants, and calls on the court to issue injunctions preventing enforcement. The filing also claims that individual violations of the law can draw fines up to $1,000 and those can total up to $20,000 with additional violations.

"The government cannot decide which political speech is allowed and which is forbidden," ADF Chief Legal Counsel Jim Campbell told Fox News Digital. "Whenever government officials determine what political speech is acceptable, dissent disappears and democracy suffers. So what we're arguing here is that the First Amendment ensures that the Babylon Bee and anyone else in New Mexico can continue to post political ads and political messages — including satire and parody, addressing some of the most important political questions facing the people of New Mexico."

Campbell noted that concerns about the legislation also came from Democratic state officials.

Upon signing HB 182, Democratic Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham wrote that portions of the bill were ambiguous and could "pose legal issues."

The complaint also cites an advisory opinion issued by Attorney General Raúl Torrez in July 2025, concluding that HB 182's disclaimer requirement on satire and parody was "likely unconstitutional on its face."

Fox News Digital reached out to Grisham's office for comment but did not immediately hear back.

The New Mexico Ethics Commission called the lawsuit "baseless" in a statement to Fox News Digital.

"Babylon Bee’s pre-enforcement lawsuit is baseless," a spokesperson said. "The Commission has never taken action to enforce the AI-disclaimer requirements in Section 1-19-26.4 of the Campaign Reporting Act, much less for political parody and satire. While the Babylon Bee has a First Amendment right to mock New Mexico, it does not have a right to extract attorneys’ fees from the State."

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Alliance Defending Freedom has represented the Babylon Bee in other lawsuits challenging similar censorship laws in Hawaii and California against deepfakes and political satire. The laws were struck down after courts ruled in each case that the state laws were unconstitutional.

Campbell said they will continue to fight similar legislation as it crops up around the country.

"We're trying to ensure that political debate remains robust and that the government doesn't tell its citizens which political speech is allowed," Campbell said.

"We need for people to be allowed to express their views and, ultimately, we need political debate and discourse to be open and free so that the American people can determine what's best for our country moving forward," he added.