Political Satire Is Protected Speech – Even If You Don’t Get the Joke
This blog post was co-written by EFF Legal Fellow Houston Davidson.
"Should an obviously fake Facebook post—one made as political satire—end with a lawsuit and a bill to pay for a police response to the post? Of course not, and that’s why EFF filed an amicus brief in Lafayette City v. John Merrifield.
In this case, Merrifield made an obviously fake Facebook event satirizing right-wing hysteria about Antifa. The announcement specifically poked fun at the well-established genre of fake Antifa social media activity, used by some to drum up anti-Antifa sentiment. However, the mayor of Lafayette didn’t get the joke, and now Lafayette City officials want Merrifield to pay for the costs of policing the fake event.
In EFF’s amicus brief filed in support of Merrifield in the Louisiana Court of Appeal, we trace the rise and proliferation of obviously parodic fake events. These events range from fake concerts (“Drake live at the Cheesecake Factory”) to quixotic events designed to forestall natural disasters (“Blow Your Saxophone at Hurricane Florence”) to fake destruction of local monuments (“Stone Mountain Implosion”). This kind of fake event is a form of online speech. It’s a crucial form of social commentary whether it makes people laugh, builds resilience in the face of absurdity, or criticizes the powerful.
EFF makes a two-pronged legal argument. First, the First Amendment clearly protects the kind of satirical speech that Merrifield has made. Political satire and other parodic forms are an American tradition that goes back to the country’s founding. The amicus brief explains that “Facetious speech may be frivolously funny, sharply political, and everything in between, and it is all fully protected by the First Amendment, even when not everybody finds it humorous.” Even when the speech offends, it may still claim constitutional protection. While the State of Louisiana may not have seen the parody, the First Amendment still applies. Second, parodic speech, by its very definition, has no intent to cause the specific serious harm that the charge of incitement or similar criminal liabilities requires. After all, it was meant to make a point about online misinformation.
We hope the appeals court follows the law, and rejects the state’s case.
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EFF Tells Louisiana Court Satire Is Still Protected Speech Even If The Government Doesn't Get The Joke
from the an-inability-to-get-a-joke-doesn't-make-it-any-less-funny dept
Last summer, as anti-police brutality protests were in full swing, a Lafayette man posted an obviously bogus Antifa call to action on his "cajUUn Memes" Facebook page. The announcement called for "cajun comrades" to rise up and engage in a takeover of the River Ranch neighborhood.
Anyone with half a brain reading the post would have known it was a joke. It contained references to marijuana (the group was to meet at 4:20 pm) and asked that only "card carrying members" of Antifa show up. There was also the line: "Arms optional. Legs encouraged."
For some reason, neither the mayor nor the local police department got the joke. The mayor issued an official statement about the city's "zero-tolerance policy for threats to life and property" and a police spokesperson said the PD would be monitoring the event despite there being "no credible evidence" the planned takeover of River Ranch would take place.
The day came and went without any Antifa uprising taking place. That should have been the end of it. It wasn't . . ."
Read more!
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