Stand up for the facts!

Our only agenda is to publish the truth so you can be an informed participant in democracy.
We need your help.

More Info

I would like to contribute

$
Facebook posts
Facebook posts
stated on November 24, 2023 in a Facebook post:

Video shows the aftermath of a school prank in which students drank lemonade containing “horse laxatives.”

False
By Sara Swann
December 11, 2023

Video of students who drank laxative-laced lemonade is fiction, not real life

If your time is short

  • The video does not show real high school students. It’s from the true crime satire show "American Vandal."
See the sources for this fact-check

Video of students who supposedly drank laxative-laced lemonade is circulating social media. One post claims the school prank was done in retaliation for bullying. But this stinks of misinformation.

A Nov. 24 Facebook post showed a split-screen video: on the left, a distressed teacher walked past multiple students in a school hallway suffering from severe gastrointestinal issues; on the right, a man reacted to the chaotic scene.

“This is what happens when someone at school that’s getting bullied gets tired of being bullied,” the man said in response to the video. “They put horse laxatives inside the lemonade in the cafeteria and got ‘em all.”

The Facebook post’s caption read, “That moment when you get tired of being bullied.”

Lemonade school prank claim edited screenshot
Figure 1: Lemonade school prank claim edited screenshot

(Facebook screengrab)

This post was 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.)

That’s because this video is from the true crime satire show “American Vandal.”

The show’s two seasons depict mockumentary-style investigations into school pranks. In the second season, released in 2018, students at a fictitious private high school get sick after the cafeteria’s lemonade is contaminated with laxatives.

Parts of the video shared in the Facebook post can be seen in the Netflix trailer for the second season of “American Vandal.”

This isn’t the first time the video has been miscaptioned. Snopes checked this claim in 2018 and Lead Stories saw posts like this in 2019.

The footage may be resurfacing now because of news about two lemonade-related lawsuits against Panera Bread. Families of two people who died say Panera’s highly caffeinated Charged Lemonade played a role. Panera has added warnings to the product but said in a statement that it believes the deaths are not connected to the lemonade.

We rate the claim that a video shared on Facebook shows the aftermath of a school prank in which students drank lemonade containing “horse laxatives” False.

Browse the Truth-O-Meter

More by Sara Swann
Instagram posts
stated on February 12, 2025 a post
Video shows a sinkhole opened in New York City in February 2025.
False

No, Meta isn’t forcing users to follow Trump. Here’s how the social media power transfer works

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on January 7, 2026 a press briefing

stated on January 14, 2026 a statement

Social Media
stated on February 14, 2026 social media posts



stated on January 20, 2026 an op-ed


Donald Trump
stated on February 3, 2026 remarks in the Oval Office


Social Media
stated on February 8, 2026 social media posts





Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
stated on stated on November 17, 2025 in remarks at George Washington University:

Donald Trump
stated on February 2, 2026 an interview with Dan Bongino