Gov. Ron DeSantis shared a shocking video at his Wednesday press conference exposing the pornographic content found inside various children’s books at Florida schools—prompting news channels to cut away from the sexually explicit footage. DeSantis held the conference, dubbed “Exposing the Book Ban Hoax,” to dispel claims that Florida’s removal of pornographic material from schools was unjustified. The video also received sensitive content warnings on social media.
“Here are the books parents found in Florida schools and reported to their school districts for removal,” the caption read at the start of the video. “What was found is shocking, graphic, and we warn you… is not appropriate for children.”
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Before beginning the slideshow, the governor had his staff warn the crowd about the content they would see. All children were removed from the room before the 5-minute-long video began.
The video featured several books removed from Florida schools over the past year. Illustrations found in the books depicted minors engaged in sexual activity. Instructions encouraged children to masturbate, have sex, and even download apps, making it easier to have “casual intercourse.”
While mainstream news sources have repeatedly claimed that the administration’s actions constitute a “book ban,” the images shown at the presser were deemed too explicit for TV.
UPDATE: Some of the media had to cut their feed when books with graphic content were displayed that were found in K-12 school libraries. https://t.co/zZMm4CuPsI
— Bryan Griffin (@BryanDGriffin) March 8, 2023
WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa cut the feed of their press conference, with reporter Mahsa Saeidi explaining, “I did ask the feed go down for the warning – I don’t show sexually explicit content.”
Yes, I did ask the feed go down for the warning – I don’t show sexually explicit content — questionable material must be reviewed.
— MAHSA SAEIDI, ESQ.🕵🏼 مهسا (@MahsaWho) March 8, 2023
Videos of the live stream on Twitter were also slapped with sensitive content warnings, including footage posted directly from the governor’s account.
Gov. DeSantis' press conference on the Book Ban Hoax was being live-streamed on social media and carried live by local news. The stream was CUT because the books (found in schools!) were too explicit. Sensitive Content warning on Twitter.
But liberals insist it's good for kids? pic.twitter.com/Sk1pnzlYEc
— DeSantis War Room 🐊 (@DeSantisWarRoom) March 8, 2023
Kyle Lamb of Team DeSantis responded to the content restrictions, pointing out a massive hole in the media’s “book banning” narrative.
“Material so graphic that media can’t air it, school board meetings don’t think it’s appropriate to discuss, but yet some people want to fight to keep this content in school libraries. And when it’s removed, they will dishonestly call it ‘banning books.'”
Material so graphic that media can't air it, school board meetings don't think it's appropriate to discuss, but yet some people want to fight to keep this content in school libraries. And when it's removed, they will dishonestly call it "banning books." https://t.co/eSyNDxASeX
— Kyle Lamb (@kylamb8) March 8, 2023
Lamb referenced an incident in 2021 when a parent was removed from an Orange County School Board meeting for reading directly from the book Gender Queer, which has now been removed from several Florida schools. It was included in Wednesday’s press conference video, showing kids engaging in sex acts and encouraging teens to have transgender surgeries.
Also included in the slideshow was “This Book is Gay,” which teaches about “the ins and outs of gay sex” and instructs boys on how to have anal sex. Another book, “Let’s Talk About It,” includes visuals describing how to masturbate.
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“That is pornographic,” the governor said after the slideshow. “Why would we have that in a media center with 10-year-old students? It’s just wrong.”
“Every minute you spend focusing on some of this pornographic stuff, that’s less time you’re spending on doing the things that matter to our kids in terms of them getting the education they need in math and reading and all of these other things. The only way you make that decision, in my judgment, is if you’re putting your own agenda ahead of the wellbeing of the students.”
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