Enter the Babylon Bee, a popular satirical outlet whose content pokes fun at public figures and often supports conservative causes. The Bee, together with its legal counsel, is leading a legal challenge against Hawaii’s new law, targeting what they see as a threat to satire and parody. “The First Amendment doesn’t allow Hawaiʻi to choose what political speech is acceptable, and we are urging the court to cancel this unnecessary censorship,” argued Alliance Defending Freedom, the Bee’s legal team, in a public statementlegal challenge against Hawaii’s new law.
Hawaii, for its part, is not backing down. The law was crafted in response to an avalanche of misinformation, from viral conspiracy theories about politicians to manipulated videos sparking real-world consequences. Governments worldwide have faced the weaponizing of artificial intelligence in conflict zones as well as election interference, making the stakes for truth higher than ever.
If the internet age made everyone a publisher, AI has made everyone a potential propagandist. The American legal system has always enshrined the right to speak out, mock, and criticize; it has not, however, guaranteed the right to deceive with impunity. As commentator Danny de Gracia noted, “You are free to express, but you are not free from the consequences of harming or deceiving people.” For more on the broader implications of manipulated AI content, see federal law targets deepfake and revenge porn online.
Satire may feel squeezed, but the new rules still allow for parody — as long as manipulated content wears a disclaimer. The purpose is not to muzzle criticism or comedy, but to give citizens a chance to distinguish fact from fiction in the increasingly hostile world of online persuasion.
Even labeled deepfakes can find their way into disinformation campaigns. No law will ever erase their risks entirely. Yet Hawaii is betting that a simple notice can slow the flood of manufactured outrage and reinforce the guardrails meant to protect democracy itself.
