Man Did Not Really Defecate In A Subway Janitor's Bucket
The Claim
A video shows a man in a New York City subway station defecating in a janitor’s soap bucket.
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Emerging story
This past week, social media users have been spreading a video along with claims that New York Mayor Bill de Blasio, and sometimes New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, are responsible for the city’s lack of decorum and sanitation. The video takes place at a subway station and shows a man mopping the floor wearing headphones. Another man is shown lying on the ground who appears disheveled. He gets up, walks over to his soap bucket, proceeds to pull down his pants and sit on the mop bucket, and appears to release his bowels.
Misbar’s Analysis
Misbar’s analysis found the video to be a prank. The video originated from an Instagram account called morriscornbread.
The owner of the account is the star of “The Cornbread Show,” which has episodes available on YouTube. This video is posted along with skits from other episodes. Past pranks have included a leprechaun being chased through a subway terminal, fishing on the tracks of a subway, and a fake Starbucks barista set up on a moving subway train.
Television programs such as The Tom Green Show, Jackass, and The Eric Andre Show similarly push the bounds of public pranking. This user managed to reach viral status from a prank, and will likely continue creating content of this vein.
According to the Coalition for the Homeless, over 53,000 homeless people spend each night in New York City’s shelter system. Thousands of others sleep on city streets and other public spaces such as subway stations. Homeless families surveyed say that the triggering events that led to their homelessness include eviction, overcrowded housing, domestic violence, job loss, and hazardous housing conditions.
