Video falsely blames removal of old school library books in Florida on state book ban

A May 22 video showing bins of books being removed from a middle school library in Hollywood, Florida, went viral on social media as supposed evidence of the reach of the state’s book ban. But the video just shows the ordinary maintenance and weeding out of old titles and has nothing to do with recent state laws. Let’s look at the facts.

Quick Look

No
This video does not show bins of books being removed after being banned from a Florida middle school.
Yes
This video shows the routine removal of old titles during a library renovation project.
Yes
A law in Florida makes it easier for parents to challenge the suitability of books and other materials available in schools, especially those related to race and gender.
Yes
Since the law was enacted in 2022, Florida school officials have removed or restricted books or have required students to get parental permission to read certain titles, according to PolitiFact.

The Takeaway

Misinformation often goes viral when it elicits strong emotions and is attached to a timely controversy. A video allegedly depicting hundreds of banned books being removed from a school library in Florida racked up more than 2.2 million views on Twitter, while a subsequent post retracting that false claim and explaining that these books were old and just being removed as part of a routine culling of old books during a library renovation had just over 10,000 views.

But even a brief investigation of this claim shows that it is largely based on one person’s assumptions. A quick Google search for additional context about the video revealed statements from school officials noting the claim was false, local news reports debunking it, fact-check articles and a retraction from the original TikTok user.

The 5 Factors

We’ve determined that this viral rumor is misleading or false based on its failure to pass the following credibility factors. Please note that these factors do not represent degrees of falsehood. A post that fails a single factor is generally just as false as a post that fails all five.

Snapshot

Source
Evidence
Context
Authenticity
Reasoning

Source

Has it been posted or confirmed by a credible source?

No.

This video originated with a school staffer but was widely spread by partisan accounts. The original poster later retracted the video.

Evidence

Is there evidence that proves the claim?

No.

No. This video does not contain any evidence to support the accompanying claim. It is based on one person’s incorrect assumption that a bin of old books was connected to the state’s new laws banning certain books. School officials have debunked the claim.

Context

Is the context accurate?

No.

The video shows the routine removal of old books as part of library maintenance to change the context and falsely allege the state ordered the books removed.

Authenticity