Babylon Bee challenges New Mexico AI political content law

The Babylon Bee is challenging a New Mexico law requiring disclosures on certain artificial intelligence-generated political content, arguing the mandate violates First Amendment protections for satire and parody.

The satirical website sued the seven members of the New Mexico State Ethics Commission in their official capacities. The lawsuit seeks to block the enforcement of provisions enacted through House Bill 182.

The law requires disclosures on political advertisements containing what it defines as “materially deceptive media.”

At the center of the case is an AI-generated Babylon Bee video parodying New Mexico that includes a depiction of a Supreme Court Justice, who is scheduled to appear on the November 2026 ballot for retention. In the video, the AI-generated version of the justice appears to make a statement he did not make.

“The reason that this is a threat to political speech is because satire and parody are long protected by the First Amendment, and yet satire and parody often depict their subjects as saying and doing things they didn’t literally do,” said Logan Spena, an attorney with Alliance Defending Freedom, which represents The Bee. “But if a speaker of satire and parody has to include an upfront disclaimer that what follows isn’t strictly true, that kills the joke.”

The dispute partly turns on the law’s definition of an “advertisement.” ADF argues it is broad enough to cover unpaid communications referring to candidates or ballot questions.

“The government is trying to make the argument that it’s limited to campaign or committee expenditures, but that just isn’t what the law says,” Spena said.

The Ethics Commission has not threatened enforcement against The Bee. The state maintains the law does not apply to the video in the way ADF alleges, raising a threshold question about whether The Bee faces a credible enough threat of enforcement to sue.

KOAT legal expert John Day said the state’s strongest argument is that the law does not ban AI-generated political content, but instead informs viewers when content is not authentic.

“The goal behind it is to label things that are not real as not real,” Day said. “The problem becomes when you are putting that label on things that are intentionally not real, that are parody, that are humor, that are satire. And is the government really empowered to do that kind of labeling?”

The court is considering the state’s request to dismiss the case and The Bee’s request to temporarily block enforcement while the lawsuit proceeds.

The ruling could help determine how far states may go in regulating deceptive political deepfakes without burdening protected humor and political speech.

The New Mexico State Ethics Commission did not respond to a request for comment by publication time.