Fact Check: Writer Pokes Fun at DeSantis Claiming He Signed Bills Establishing 'Bible Day,' Florida's Official Gender, and Hospitals Selling Beer and Wine

Claim:

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed three bills establishing "Bible Day" on June 27, certifying "male" as the official state gender and allowing hospitals to sell beer and wine.

Rating:

On June 26, 2024, an X user named Keaton Patti (@KeatonPatti) posted, "Normal day in Florida." His post featured an image appearing to originate from a local news station in Florida. The broadcast showed the state's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis with the headline, "Gov. DeSantis Signs 3 New Bills."

According to the image, the three bills purportedly were: "June 27th is now 'Bible Day,'" "certifies 'male' as the official state gender of Florida" and "hospitals can sell beer and wine."

The website 10TampaBay.com was displayed in the bottom-right corner of the image, referencing the CBS TV affiliate WTSP in St. Petersburg, Florida.

One of the most-liked replies under Patti's post read, "At least I can have one final beer on my death bed."

Another user asked, "Is this real?," as did a different person who replied, "Is this real? That last one is based af."

Other people mentioned satire, including one user who said, "It's sad when you can't tell if it's satire or facts … halp."

We also found at least one person who responded to the post, "Florida Man… checks out."

However, as some users correctly guessed, Patti's post was a satirical joke aiming to make light of DeSantis' politics, perhaps specifically including several new Florida state bills reportedly set to go into effect on July 1.

The original broadcast uploaded to WTSP.com on June 25 displayed the three genuine bills, including "increased security for Jewish schools," "definition of antisemitism" and "banning balloon releases."

This image shows the three genuine bills DeSantis signed.

According to a GitHub page, Patti is a writer and comedian who has contributed to "Jimmy Kimmel Live!," The New Yorker, Comedy Central, The Onion and others. He also authored the book, "I Forced a Bot to Write This Book: A.I. Meets B.S."

We contacted Patti by email to ask about his inspiration for the post and will update this article if we receive more details.

Sources:

"About The Onion." The Onion, https://www.theonion.com/about/.

Accettulla, Kevin. "LIST: These New Florida Laws Go into Effect July 1." WFLA, 25 June 2024, https://www.wfla.com/news/florida/these-new-florida-laws-go-into-effect-july-1/.

"DeSantis Signs Bill Banning Balloon Releases and Two Related to Antisemitism." WTSP.com, 25 June 2024, https://www.wtsp.com/video/news/politics/desantis-signs-bill-banning-balloon-releases-and-two-related-to-antisemitism/67-0fd55610-bab2-4648-be97-7be2cd3d96a0.

"Keaton Patti." GitHub.io, https://keatonpatti.github.io/.

"Keaton Patti - McSweeney's Internet Tendency." McSweeney's Internet Tendency, https://www.mcsweeneys.net/authors/keaton-patti.