Viral video does not show members of the U.S. Congress dancing

Tensions at the U.S. border have recently escalated, prompting some lawmakers to criticize the Biden administration for its border policies. People across social media have also been critical of Congress’ inaction, sharing a video clip showing lawmakers dancing. Some of the posts imply that members of Congress are dancing instead of working to address the crisis.

“Our borders are wide open and this is what they’re doing in Congress,” one now-deleted post on X says. The post, which had more than one million views, included a video clip that appears to show people dancing inside a legislative chamber.

A TikTok video of the same people dancing includes text on screen that says, “DISTURBING CONTENT While the border is being invaded…”

“This is your present day Congress - the U.S. is DONE,” reads one title of a YouTube video featuring the clip posted on March 21.  

THE QUESTION

Does a viral video show members of the U.S. Congress dancing?

THE SOURCES

• Original video from May 2023 posted by Florida’s Voice and The Florida Channel
• Florida's House of Representatives
• InVid and RevEye, video forensics tools

THE ANSWER

No, the video doesn’t show members of the U.S. Congress dancing. The video is from the floor of the Florida House of Representatives and shows members of the Florida legislature in May 2023.

WHAT WE FOUND

The viral video clip does not show members of the U.S. Congress dancing. It is a video from the Florida House of Representatives and shows state lawmakers dancing in the aisle of the chamber on May 2, 2023. 

Using InVid, a video forensics tool, VERIFY conducted a reverse image search and traced the viral video back to videos posted online on May 2, 2023 showing the Florida legislature. 

The Florida representatives can be seen dancing in this video posted by The Florida Channel, the state’s public broadcasting channel. We also found this video posted to X by Florida’s Voice, a website covering politics in Florida. 

According to The Florida Channel, the lawmakers were dancing in celebration of “Boots Day,” a day when legislators are encouraged to wear boots to the legislative session. In addition to showing off their boots, the lawmakers line danced in the center aisle. 

“HAPPENING NOW: Florida lawmakers dance on House floor,” a May 2, 2023, X post from Florida’s Voice says. While it is not the same exact clip being shared, the same people can be seen dancing in both videos. The chamber seen in the viral video also matches images of Florida’s chamber published on the House of Representatives website.

This is not the first time this video has been shared out of context. PolitiFact published this fact check on May 5, 2023, debunking claims the video shows lawmakers dancing in celebration after passing anti-trans legislation.