California Gov. Gavin Newsom, an extreme leftist who advocates for radical abortion policies, transgender surgeries on children who are unable to make such decisions, and wildly restrictive speech limits, recently signed into law a plan to require that internet parody to prominently labeled as parody.

So that people know what they watching, one presumes.

But the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression took issue.

Aaron Terr, the FIRE director of public advocacy, explained, “How many unconstitutional laws can a state enact in one day?

“We already explained some of the problems with AB 2839, which criminalizes sharing digitally modified ‘deceptive content’ about candidates for office for any reason, even to criticize it. AB 2655 is no better. It forces large online platforms to censor on behalf of the state.”

Terr explained, “Platforms must: Block ‘deceptive’ content about politicians – even if it isn’t actually defamatory, Respond to every single public complaint about ‘deceptive content’ within 36 hours, filter and block any content that’s ‘substantially similar’ to that previously removed.”

Terr said, “The law is a disaster for multiple reasons. It threatens Californians’ right to speak freely about politics in their state by saddling platforms with the impossible task of reviewing a deluge of complaints about allegedly deceptive content and quickly deciding whether it violates the statute. No doubt many of those complaints will be frivolous attempts to silence political adversaries. As we have seen in the context of the copyright notice-and-takedown system, platforms will likely make inaccurate judgments and err on the side of caution, suppressing massive amounts of constitutionally protected speech to avoid being constantly dragged into court.”

Further, the FIRE statement said, “The bill also erodes platforms’ First Amendment right to decide what content to host, and it’s preempted by Section 230, the federal law that protects Americans’ right to speak online by immunizing online platforms from liability for users’ speech. This is the exact scenario Section 230 is meant to prevent. This California law is a stark reminder of why both the First Amendment and Section 230 are essential to preserving free expression on the internet.”

WND already had reported Newsom’s plan drew a lawsuit within hours of his signature.

A report from UPI said video creator Christopher Kohls is charging Newsom with violations of the First and 14th Amendments with Newsom’s “anti-deepfake measure” that was signed into law this week.

California’s governor was offended by a parody released by “Mr. Reagan” recently:

Kamala Harris Campaign Ad PARODY pic.twitter.com/5lBxvyTZ3o

— Mr Reagan (@MrReaganUSA) July 26, 2024

In it “Kamala Harris” confirms she is the Democrat candidate for president because Joe Biden “exposed his senility at the debate.”

She confesses she is the “ultimate diversity hire,” as a woman and a “person of color.”

“So if you criticize anything I say you’re both sexist and racist.”

The mockery continues.

The video uses AI-generated audio clips, and it was shared by Elon Musk, collecting more than 100 million views.

Newsom responded:

I just signed a bill to make this illegal in the state of California.

You can no longer knowingly distribute an ad or other election communications that contain materially deceptive content — including deepfakes. https://t.co/VU4b8RBf6N

— Gavin Newsom (@GavinNewsom) September 17, 2024

The lawsuit in federal court in California charges that Newsom’s scheme is a flagrant use of “state power to force private social media companies to censor private citizens’ speech by purging election-related AI-generated content.”

Musk’s comment? “You’re not gonna believe this, but Gavin Newsom, just announced that he signed a LAW to make parody illegal, based on this video.”

He concludes California needs “new leadership.”

Gavin Newsom just signed a bill making memes and parody illegal in his state because of this video.

Gavin will be very mad if this video went viral again! pic.twitter.com/FI0KY866eO

— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) September 18, 2024

However, taking on Newsom directly was the Babylon Bee, which prominently announced it has “‘obtained this exclusive, official, 100% real Gavin Newsom election ad.”

BREAKING: The Babylon Bee has obtained this exclusive, official, 100% real Gavin Newsom election ad. https://t.co/nicrnKF5Ji pic.twitter.com/iksPVxltzI

— The Babylon Bee (@TheBabylonBee) September 18, 2024

The Gateway Pundit called it “the perfect response” to Newsom.

In it, “Newsom” states:

This is a message for the people of America, given in my authentically recorded non-AI voice. Thanks to my leadership over the last several years, California has become a world leader in extremist left-wing governance. My policies were so effective that almost 1 million people are now fleeing the state every year. We even ran out of U-Hauls.

During the COVID pandemic, I locked everyone in their homes and shut down businesses for months. Not the French Laundry, though. That’s my favorite restaurant. Last year, I cleaned up the dangerous, messy streets of San Francisco. You know, because Chinese Communist President Xi was coming. And I really wanted to impress him. He’s my boss, after all.

This year, I signed legislation that allows me to take custody of your kid if you refuse to give him artificial hormones and chop off his genitals. Because if you don’t do that, you’re a bigot. And bigots shouldn’t be allowed to have kids. I’ve also led the way in green energy by banning all cars that don’t run on electricity. Then I banned almost all the electricity. This is smart leadership.

On my watch, the cost of living and homelessness have skyrocketed. Schools are failing. Drug dealers and human traffickers are pouring across the border. And poop has covered the sidewalks of San Francisco. This is the positive, joyful vision we offer as Democrats.

That’s why I’m enthusiastically endorsing Kamala Harris for president in 2024. She’ll do to the country everything I did in California. Anyway, I’m California Governor Gavin Newsom, and I approve this 100% real message, which is a recording of my voice without the assistance of any AI whatsoever.

This isn’t a deepfake. And you can rest assured that it isn’t, because I just signed an unconstitutional law outlawing deepfakes. No one would dare violate it. Thank you, and science bless America.

Bob Unruh

Bob Unruh joined WND in 2006 after nearly three decades with the Associated Press, as well as several Upper Midwest newspapers, where he covered everything from legislative battles and sports to tornadoes and homicidal survivalists. He is also a photographer whose scenic work has been used commercially. Read more of Bob Unruh's articles here.