Hawaii Governor Josh Green thought he could make political satire illegal.
He just found out what happens when you try.
What that decision is about to cost Hawaii taxpayers – and why the bill could still grow – is the part Green didn't plan for.
Hawaii Act 191 Made Political Satire a Criminal Act During Elections
Hawaii Democrat Governor Josh Green signed Act 191 in July 2024 with one practical effect: it forced every person posting political content online in Hawaii to perform a legal risk assessment before hitting publish.
The law banned distributing "materially deceptive media" during election season if it posed a risk of "harming the reputation or electoral prospects of a candidate" or "changing the voting behavior of voters."
Not actual harm. Risk of harm.
A satirist posting a joke meme had no reliable way to know whether a state enforcement agency would later decide it crossed the line.
Violators faced fines, civil lawsuits, and jail time.
The law offered one escape: plaster mandatory disclaimers in letters as large as any other text on screen, running throughout the entirety of any video.
The Babylon Bee – a Christian satire site so effective that Snopes once fact-checked its jokes – sued in June 2025, joined by Hawaii resident Dawn O'Brien.
US District Judge Shanlyn Park ended the law in January 2026.
She found Act 191 "presumptively invalid" because it discriminated based on content and speaker, restricting "constitutionally protected political speech."
The law, Park wrote, "muddies the line between compliance and noncompliance by forcing speakers to base their conduct on their own risk assessment, rather than on clear, objective standards."
She noted the vague enforcement standard "could conceivably lead to discretionary and targeted enforcement that discriminates based on viewpoint."
Hawaii chose not to appeal.
Judge Strikes Down Hawaii Deepfake Law as First Amendment Violation
The most damaging moment of the case wasn't the ruling itself.
It was what Hawaii's own expert admitted on the record.
The state claimed that digital literacy education would accomplish the same goal – protecting voters from genuinely deceptive content – without touching speech.
Hawaii's expert objected only that education "would require a larger investment of resources" compared to a ban.
Park cited the Supreme Court directly: "The First Amendment does not permit the State to sacrifice speech for efficiency."
Alliance Defending Freedom legal counsel Mathew Hoffmann announced the settlement: "Hawaii's war against political memes and satire has come to an end, thankfully. The First Amendment doesn't allow any state to choose what political speech is acceptable and censor speech in the name of 'misinformation.' That censorship is both undemocratic and unnecessary."
Now Hawaii taxpayers owe $118,237.47 in attorney's fees – and the legislature hasn't approved the funds yet.
The settlement is contingent on the state legislature appropriating the money before September 1, 2027.
If lawmakers fail to act, the Babylon Bee and O'Brien retain the right to file a formal motion for attorney's fees – meaning the case reopens and the final number climbs.
California Lost the Same Fight and Minnesota Is Next in Line
Hawaii is not an isolated case.
California's version – AB 2839, signed by Gavin Newsom in September 2024 – didn't survive a month after being challenged in court.
US District Judge John Mendez blocked it in October 2024, calling it "a blunt tool that hinders humorous expression and unconstitutionally stifles the free and unfettered exchange of ideas."
ADF beat California's law on behalf of the Babylon Bee first. Then Hawaii's.
Minnesota's version is still being litigated before the full 8th Circuit.
Democrats in Sacramento, Honolulu, and St. Paul cannot beat conservative political satire in the marketplace of ideas, so they keep trying to regulate it out of existence.
The Babylon Bee has become the test case every time – and every time, the First Amendment wins.
Minnesota is watching Hawaii write a $118,237.47 check it cannot even cut yet.
Sources:
- Mathew Hoffmann, "Case Closed: Hawaii Officials Pay Up for Unconstitutional Censorship of Political Memes," Alliance Defending Freedom, May 21, 2026.
- Greg Piper, "Governments Pay Hefty Settlements for Threatening, Jailing People Who Share Political Memes," Just the News, May 21, 2026.
- John Woolley, "Judge Overturns Hawaii's Criminalization of 'Deceptive' Election Memes as Broad, Vague and Biased," Just the News, February 3, 2026.
