The Babylon Bee has built an empire doing something politicians have historically found intolerable: making fun of them.
Now, New Mexico apparently wants the Bee to explain the punchline.
The satirical outlet filed a federal lawsuit Tuesday challenging a state law requiring disclaimers on certain AI-generated political content, arguing the mandate violates the First Amendment. Alliance Defending Freedom is representing the Bee.
We filed another lawsuit today, this time against the state of New Mexico. https://t.co/FY3mHStDru
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) August 11, 2026
Under New Mexico’s law, political satire created with artificial intelligence can be required to carry government-mandated disclosures. In other words: The government would like comedians to inform you that the obviously ridiculous thing you are watching may, in fact, be ridiculous.
Bee CEO Seth Dillon isn’t laughing.
“New Mexico is stuffing words into our mouths, forcing us to say things we wouldn’t say otherwise,” Dillon said in a statement released by ADF.
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That should concern anyone who values free speech.
Political satire has never needed government permission. From cartoons mocking kings to late-night comedians skewering presidents, parody works precisely because politicians don’t control the joke.
ADF Chief Legal Counsel Jim Campbell put it plainly: “The government cannot decide which political speech is allowed and which is forbidden.”
Exactly.
Artificial intelligence presents legitimate concerns about fraud and deception. But protecting elections from malicious deepfakes does not require putting government warning labels on political comedy.
If Americans need bureaucrats to explain that a Babylon Bee video is satire, our national crisis may be considerably worse than artificial intelligence.
The First Amendment protects serious political commentary. It also protects cartoons, memes, parody and jokes that make elected officials uncomfortable.
Especially those jokes.
New Mexico should leave comedy to the comedians and constitutional rights to the Constitution.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
