Readers of the Bee,
We've been engaged in a fight you may not know about — and we just won a major victory.
In 2024, Hawaii Governor Josh Green signed Act 191 into law, criminalizing what he and state lawmakers deemed "materially deceptive media" about political candidates. The law was breathtakingly broad: it covered memes, parody videos, AI-generated images, satirical posts — essentially any content the government decided might "risk harming the reputation or electoral prospects" of a politician or "changing voting behavior." Violators faced criminal penalties, including fines of up to $1,000 and 30 days in jail for a first offense, and $2,000 and a full year of imprisonment for a second. The legislature was even asked to add an exemption for parody and satire. They refused.
Let that sink in. The state of Hawaii made it a crime to post a political meme.
Such laws are not just a threat to our business — they're an attack on the First Amendment.
We'd prefer to just mock these tyrants, but sometimes mockery isn't enough. Sometimes we have to take action to defend our rights. We couldn't sit by and let this law go unchallenged.
So we filed a lawsuit — and we won.
On January 30, just days before the law was set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Shanlyn Park issued a permanent injunction blocking Hawaii from ever enforcing Act 191. The court found the law "presumptively invalid" because it discriminates based on content, restricting constitutionally protected political speech. As Judge Park wrote in her opinion: "Political speech, of course, is at the core of what the First Amendment is designed to protect."
Notably, Judge Park is a Biden appointee. This wasn't a partisan ruling. It was a straightforward vindication of the First Amendment.
This is now the second time we've beaten back a state law targeting political satire. Last year, a federal court struck down similar legislation in California — laws that were passed after Governor Gavin Newsom publicly declared that a parody video of Kamala Harris should be "illegal." The pattern is clear: politicians in blue states are trying to criminalize speech that makes them look bad, and the Babylon Bee is standing in their way.
When we launched, our goal was to make people laugh. We never expected to find ourselves on the front lines of a battle for free speech. But here we are — and these fights aren't cheap. Legal battles require real resources, and we know more challenges are coming.
We're fortunate to have paid subscribers who stand with us. Their support gives us the freedom to fight — and not just in the courtroom, but in the culture, and against Big Tech. Will you subscribe today and join the ranks of our sustaining supporters? Use code: HAWAII for 30% off.
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