The Babylon Bee sues California over satire and ‘deepfake’ law

Lauren Taylor

POPULAR SATIRE SITE ‘THE BABYLON BEE’ IS SUING CALIFORNIA OVER NEW LAWS THE SITE CLAIMS RESTRICT FREE SPEECH, SPECIFICALLY TARGETING SATIRE AND PARODY.

GOVERNOR GAVIN NEWSOM SIGNED THESE LAWS TO COMBAT A-I GENERATED “DEEPFAKE” CONTENT… BUT CRITICS ARGUE THEY GO TOO FAR BY FORCING SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS TO LABEL OR REMOVE SATIRICAL POSTS.

THE BABYLON BEE’S LAWSUIT, FILED IN FEDERAL COURT MONDAY, ARGUES THAT REQUIRING DISCLAIMERS FOR SATIRE VIOLATES THE FIRST AMENDMENT. CEO SETH DILLON SAYS FORCING DISCLAIMERS STIFLES FREE EXPRESSION AND LEAVES NO ROOM FOR HUMOR.

“IF WE’RE UNABLE TO PUBLISH SATIRE WITHOUT PUTTING DISCLAIMERS ALL OVER IT, AND WE’RE GOING TO FACE POTENTIAL PENALTIES IF WE DON’T DO THAT, THEN THAT’S A VERY SERIOUS ISSUE-”“SO WE’RE FIGHTING BACK IN EVERY WAY THAT WE CAN AGAINST LAWS THAT CLAMP DOWN ON SPEECH.”

THE LAWSUIT, BACKED BY THE ALLIANCE DEFENDING FREEDOM, SAYS THE LAWS PROTECT POLITICIANS FROM CRITICISM WHILE SUPPRESSING FREE SPEECH. CREATOR OF A DEEPFAKE KAMALA HARRIS AD, CHRISTOPHER KOHLS… KNOWN ONLINE AS “MR. REAGAN,” ALSO SUED THE STATE, ALLEGING SIMILAR CLAIMS.

THE SUIT ADDS TO A GROWING LIST OF CONSERVATIVE MEDIA OUTLETS ALLEGING CENSORSHIP. LAST YEAR, THE DAILY WIRE AND THE FEDERALIST SUED THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION OVER SIMILAR CONCERNS. THIS PARTICULAR LEGAL SHOWDOWN COULD SET NEW PRECEDENTS FOR POLITICAL SATIRE IN THE DIGITAL AGE.

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FOR STRAIGHT ARROW NEWS… I’M LAUREN TAYLOR.