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.
I would like to contribute
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."
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."
(Facebook screengrab)
Sign up for PolitiFact texts
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.
Featured Fact-check
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.
Our Sources
Facebook post, Nov. 24, 2023
NBC News, "Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade blamed for a second death, lawsuit alleges," Dec. 4, 2023
NBC News, "FDA says it is looking into the death of a college student who drank Panera Bread's Charged Lemonade," Oct. 25, 2023
The New York Times, "Panera Bread’s Charged Lemonade Linked to Second Death in Lawsuit - The New York Times," Dec. 5, 2023
Netflix, "Watch American Vandal," accessed Dec. 11, 2023
The New Yorker, "'American Vandal' Season 2 Goes from Poop Jokes to Adolescent Dystopia," Sept. 14, 2018
YouTube, "American Vandal: Season 2 | Official Trailer [HD] | Netflix," Aug. 21, 2018
Lead Stories, "Fake News: Student Did NOT Put Horse Laxative In Lemonade At School As Revenge For Bullying," March 24, 2019
Snopes, "Does This Video Show School Lemonade Spiked with Laxatives?," Sept. 19, 2018
Browse the Truth-O-Meter
More by Sara Swann
Video of students who drank laxative-laced lemonade is fiction, not real life
Support independent fact-checking.
Become a member!
In a world of wild talk and fake news, help us stand up for the facts.