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Claim that Disney is installing urinals in women's bathrooms started as satire | Fact check

Hannah Hudnall   Paste BN
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The claim: Disney World is adding urinals to its women's restrooms

A Feb. 15 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) shows clips of restroom signs and urinals across Disney World theme parks.

"Disney World is adding urinals to the women's restrooms," a man narrates over the footage. "This is an effort by Disney to be more inclusive."

The narrator claims he spoke to a man who said he could now use the women's restrooms "without being arrested."

The video was screen-recorded from another Facebook post that was shared more than 3,000 times in two weeks. Other versions of the claim were shared on Facebook, Instagram and X, formerly Twitter.

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Our rating: False

A Disney spokesperson said the claim is not true. The story was created as satire by a website that regularly publishes fabricated stories about Disney. The video originated from a Facebook post that now states the story is fake.

Story originated from satirical site

A Disney spokesperson told Paste BN in an email the claim is untrue.

The video was originally shared on Instagram by the satirical site Mouse Trap News. A Feb. 8 article published on the Mouse Trap News website matches the narration word-for-word.

Text at the bottom of the article refers to the account as a "totally made-up story," and the website's "About" page says, "Anything you read here is not true, real or accurate, but it is fun."

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It's an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where claims created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, viewers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.

The Facebook post where the screen recording originated has an updated caption that states the story is fake.

Disney is not "removing all genders from its bathrooms," as the man in the video claims. The park says on its website that it doesn't have any restrooms labeled "gender neutral" but has several single-stall restrooms labeled "companion rooms" that are free for anyone to use.

Paste BN reached out to the users who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

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