On Monday, after citing a false claim that schools are placing litter boxes in student bathrooms for kids to use, a Nebraska state lawmaker apologized.
Senator Bruce Bostelman shared his thoughts on the claim, which alleges that litter boxes are being provided for children who self-identify as cats, during a televised debate on a bill intended to help school children with behavioral problems.
"It's called something called furries," Bostelman said. "If you don't know what furries are, it's where school children dress up as animals, cats, or dogs during the school day. They meow, and they bark, and they interact with their teachers in that fashion, and now schools are wanting to put litter boxes in these schools for the children to use. How is that sanitary?"
The moment was quickly captured and shared on social media, bringing in over half-a-million views and hundreds of responses to the lawmaker's claims.
Bostelman said he had heard stories of children dressing as cats and dogs while at school, which left him "shocked," but school districts across the country have debunked the claim.
According to a report from the Associated Press, the rumor has been shared in a private Facebook group, "Protect Nebraska Children," and even surfaced at an Iowa school district last month.
The superintendent of the school district was forced to write to parents debunking the claim as "simply and emphatically not true."
Nonetheless, in his fiery segment, Bostelman claimed that he would discuss the litter boxes with the head of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services, calling it unsanitary.
But where did the claim first originate?
In December, during a Midland Public Schools school board meeting northwest of Detroit, members of the public first brought the claim forward. From there, it has spread across the internet and the country like wildfire since then.
The district's superintendent debunked the claim, issuing a statement that there had "never been litter boxes within MPS schools."
However, the rumor continued to gain popularity, becoming fuel for political figures like Bostelman.
Bostelman did take back his remarks hours after he made them on Monday. He acknowledged that the story was untrue and that he checked his claims with another state senator who leads the Legislatures Education Committee.
"It was just something I felt that if this really was happening, we needed to address it and address it quickly," Bostelman said.
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