State criminalizes political memes, gets sued by popular satire site
The Babylon Bee, a popular satire website, has filed a lawsuit against the state of Hawaii challenging a state law that censors online content, “including political satire and parody.”
An announcement from the ADF, which is representing the publication as well as a Hawaii resident in the case, said, “The law violates fundamental free speech and due process rights by using vague and overbroad standards to punish people for posting certain political content online, including political memes and parodies of politicians.”
LET’S GO: Babylon Bee files lawsuit against California after state adopts new “deepfake” laws https://t.co/mJag9rbkZq
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) September 30, 2024
ALOHA to everyone except Hawaii’s humor police!
Once again, we’re teaming up with @TheBabylonBee to challenge an unconstitutional state law censoring satire and political memes.
Similar to the California law challenged by the Bee last year, Hawaii’s law prohibits the… pic.twitter.com/tDfK97Rxe8
— Alliance Defending Freedom (@ADFLegal) June 4, 2025
Once again we’re taking a break from writing jokes to defend our right to tell them. https://t.co/pD5v0ipHJA
— Seth Dillon (@SethDillon) June 4, 2025
The ADF explained Gov. Josh Green signed S2687 into law in July 2024, and it bans the distribution of “materially deceptive media” that portrays politicians in a way that risks harming “the reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate.”
Further, the state forces satire artists to post disclaimers, destroying the purpose of satire.
“Hawaii’s war against political memes and satire is censorship, pure and simple,” said ADF lawyer Mathew Hoffmann. “Satire has served as an important vehicle to deliver truth with a smile for centuries, and this kind of speech receives the utmost protection under the Constitution. The First Amendment doesn’t allow Hawaii to choose what political speech is acceptable, and we are urging the court to cancel this unnecessary censorship.”
Seth Dillon, chief of the Bee, said, “We’re used to getting pulled over by the joke police, but comedy isn’t a crime. The First Amendment protects our right to tell jokes, whether it’s election season or not. We’ll never stop fighting to defend that freedom.”
The complaint notes, “The Hawaii Office of the Public Defender opposed the bill because of First Amendment concerns, informing legislators that ‘[p]eople have a First Amendment right to criticize candidates … and make all kinds of political speech attacking candidates.'”
ADF attorneys represent The Babylon Bee in a similar case in California, resulting in state officials agreeing not to enforce the challenged laws as the case proceeds.
The Babylon Bee sues California’s AG over censorship law https://t.co/3hWWllJgJU
— Not the Bee (@Not_the_Bee) April 12, 2023