On October 28-29, Russian-language Facebook accounts (1; 2) spread information claiming that in the U.S. state of Utah, officials had banned reading the Bible in elementary and middle schools “due to vulgarity or violence.” The posts included a screenshot showing an AP News article.
Information about the alleged Bible ban in Utah schools is being spread manipulatively. The Bible was indeed banned in 2023 in one district of Salt Lake City, Utah, but the decision was soon reversed. The complaint that led to the ban was filed by a parent and reviewed by a committee; the initiators were not government officials, as the posts claim.
The information about the Bible ban in Utah schools first appeared on October 28 on the Telegram channel Галина Царёва (официальный). Both on Telegram and Facebook, posts claim that the decision to ban the Bible is hypocrisy and madness, arguing that it encourages children to engage in same-sex relationships from an early age, allows gender reassignment surgery without parental consent, and promotes satanic extracurricular activities and pedophilia.
AP News did indeed publish such an article, but the posts fail to indicate that it is dated June 3, 2023. According to the article, the committee in Davis School District of Salt Lake City, Utah, removed the Bible from elementary and middle school libraries after receiving a complaint from a parent. The parent’s complaint was related to a wave of book bans taking place in the state at that time and claimed that some passages in the Bible were too vulgar or violent for children. Furthermore, the posts claim that the initiative came from “American officials,” whereas in reality, the issue was reviewed by a committee composed of teachers and parents, based on a parent’s submission.
On June 21 of the same year, the district’s appeals committee overturned the decision and reinstated the Bible in elementary and middle schools. The reasoning stated that the Bible has significant educational and moral value for minors, which outweighs the violent or vulgar content it contains.
Accordingly, the Telegram and Facebook posts fail to mention that the decision to ban the Bible is from 2023 and was reversed less than a month after being made.
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