Video shows comedian, not Disney executive, speaking at city council meeting | Fact check
The claim: Video shows Disney executive announcing company's new pediatric transgender clinics
A July 7 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) begins with a screenshot of a headline that reads, "DISNEY EXECUTIVE REVEALS SHOCKING NEXT PHASE FOR COMPANY – NOBODY SAW THIS COMING…OR DID THEY?"
The video then shows a man walking up to a podium and speaking to a table of city council members.
"Thank you, I'm Alan Bergman," the man says. "I'm the co-chair of the entertainment division at Disney and we have a special announcement to make today. ... We're proud to announce that this summer we're going to be opening Disney-themed pediatric transgender clinics for the children across the country."
The video includes screenshots of articles about Disney including LGBTQ characters in its shows and movies.
The post garnered more than 4,000 shares in a week, while the original TikTok garnered more than 7,000 likes in nine days. Similar versions of the claim have been shared on Facebook and Instagram.
Follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates throughout the day on our latest debunks
Our rating: False
The video features a comedian satirically posing as a Disney executive. The company isn't opening any transgender clinics.
Video was created as satire
The headline featured in the Facebook video comes from a Bitchute video shared by conservative comedian Mark Dice, who attended a June 21 Oceanside City Council Meeting in California.
The video's description says Dice was posing as Bergman, the Disney co-chair, as a form of satire.
"While it's 'just' satire, is it really that far from the actual truth?" reads the description.
Dice shared the video on YouTube as well with the same satire disclaimer.
Fact check: No, National Guard is not blocking Disney World entrances; claim is satire
Nine days later, the comedian shared a similar video on YouTube, in which he attended a Del Mar City Council meeting in California and made the same claim posing as Bergman.
The Facebook video is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where posts created as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
Dice has uploaded numerous videos of himself attending various city council meetings across California, posing as other characters such as a professor who teaches critical race theory and a father of a transgender Ugandan child.
Bergman is pictured on the Disney website and clearly looks different than Dice.
There haven't been any credible reports of Disney opening transgender clinics.
USA TODAY reached out to the Facebook user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response. The TikTok user couldn't be contacted.
The claim has also been debunked by PolitiFact.
Our fact-check sources:
Mark Dice (Bitchute), June 28, DISNEY EXECUTIVE REVEALS SHOCKING NEXT PHASE FOR COMPANY - NOBODY SAW THIS COMING…OR DID THEY?
Mark Dice (YouTube), June 28, Disney’s Creepy New Plans for Kids
Mark Dice (YouTube), July 7, Recognize This Guy? He's BAAACK
Mark Dice (YouTube), Aug. 3, 2022, Yes, That's Me! (Seriously)
Mark Dice (YouTube), April 6, 2022, Trolling City Council To Show People What Democrats Actually Believe
Mark Dice (YouTube), June 19, Wait For It…Telling the Truth about "Pride Month" to City Council Meeting
KOCT – The Voice of North County (YouTube), June 22, Oceanside City Council Meeting: June 21, 2023
The Walt Disney Company, accessed July 14, Alan Bergman
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or e-newspaper here.
Our fact-check work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Disney isn't opening pediatric transgender clinics | Fact check
