Is this woman encouraging her son to use a litter box? No, it’s satire.

A video of a mother saying her son uses a litter box at school because he “identifies as a cat” has gone viral online.

A May 1 Facebook video begins with a 2022 clip from the United Kingdom-based Channel 4 News in which a journalist said, “Are American schools installing cat litter boxes in toilets for children who think they’re cats?” (The video omits the part when the journalist says this isn’t happening.)

Then, the video cuts to a person reacting to what looks like a mother encouraging her child to use the litter box. The person says the parent “has now categorized (her son) as a cat and even restricted his teachers from letting him use the bathroom.”

(Screengrab from Facebook)

The video shows a clip of the mom who says she bought a litter box for her son to put in the school bathroom and use.

“It’s so sad to think that kids are being coached to think this is normal,” the person reacting to the video says.

Another Facebook post shared the same video. These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

The video of the “mom” talking about her son using the litter box originated from a satirical TikTok account that often shares fake stories about family members.

The original video was shared Sept. 21, 2023, along with a caption that had a hashtag that said “satire.” The TikTok user’s bio also says it is a “satire account.”

PolitiFact has fact-checked false claims about schools putting litter boxes in bathrooms for students who identify as “furries,” or people interested in anthropomorphized animals. We rated these claims Pants on Fire.

We rate the claim that a video shows a mom encouraging her son “who identifies as a cat to use the litter box at school” Pants on Fire!

RELATED: Debunking, rebuttals didn’t stop claim about litter boxes in schools from spreading before midterms

By

Sara Swann

Digital Research Analyst

May 6, 2024

Truth-o-meter Ruling

Pants on Fire!

IF YOUR TIME IS SHORT

• The video originated from a satirical TikTok account.

Statement

Video shows a mother encouraging her son “who identifies as a cat to use the litter box at school.”

Context

a Facebook video

Speaker/Target

Speaker: Facebook posts

Statement Date

May 1, 2024