As we’ve reported, California Governor Gavin Newsom recently signed a strict new law making it illegal to create or publish videos created using AI during election season. If that sounds like a First Amendment violation to you, you’re not alone. X owner Elon Musk quickly struck back.
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A masterclass in trolling:
Golden State Rep. Kevin Kiley (R) wasn’t amused either:
The video that so triggered the elegantly coiffed governor was a parody made by a content creator called “Mr Reagan,” which was a savagely funny pretend Kamala Harris campaign ad. If you haven’t seen it, it’s worth taking a look.
LOL
Friday Funnies: Hilarious Parody Campaign Ad Beautifully Exposes K amala’s Monumental Flaws
On Monday, Mr Reagan struck again, brutally taking aim at Newsom along with the Democrats and the corrupt media. It’s a little long at just over two minutes, but it certainly leaves a mark:
Watch:
Ah, so satisfying. The virtual beatdown Mr Reagan delivers to Newsom is a delicious thing to behold. Note also that he clearly marks it as parody. I may not be a lawyer, but I can use a keyboard, and here’s what I found:
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The U.S. Supreme Court unanimously agreed in Hustler v. Falwell, 485 U.S. 46 (1988), that a parody, which no reasonable person expected to be true, was protected free speech. The justices also stated that upholding the lower courts’ decisions would put all political satire at risk.
What’s that, Mr. Newsom? I can’t hear you.
There were multiple funny things about the video, but my favorite was when he had fake Newsom run through a list of the disinformation spread by leftists. They have told so many whoppers in recent years I’d even forgotten some of them. The fake Newsom asks, “If I don’t ban Mr Reagan’s parody AI videos, how would we ever know that”:
- Trump will be a dictator on day one
- If he doesn’t win, he’s promised a bloodbath
- Hunter Biden’s laptop was Russian disinformation
- Inflation is transitory and the border is secure
- COVID came from bat soup
- Trump told everyone to inject bleach
- Boys can be girls and girls can be boys and there’s no such thing as gender
- Trump is controlled by Vladimir Putin
- January 6 was an armed insurrection where many police officers lost their lives
- COVID vaccines had zero side effects and masks were 100 percent effective
- Trump staged both of his assassination attempts
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And the list goes on. The fake Newsom adds, “And how would we know that Trump is literally Hitler? Reincarnation is definitely a thing. Hitler died in 1945. Trump was born in 1946. Coincidence? I think not.”
It’s totally believable Gavin would say that; he and his cronies have tried to pass off equally fabulist theories an innumerable number of times. (Just look at the list above.)
To me, satire, parody, and mockery are some of the best weapons we have to fight back against the progressives’ lies, censorship efforts, and weaponization of our legal systems. It’s no wonder they want to outlaw it all.
Mr Reagan for the win.