When a lie is repeated often enough, it can create an illusion of truth. This psychological tendency — also known as the illusory truth effect — was on full display throughout the summer of 2022 as this rumor made its way from the fringes of social media to school board meetings to political campaign events to a podcast with more than 13 million subscribers.

Other cognitive biases, such as motivated reasoning and confirmation bias, can lead people to readily accept or amplify unverified claims that reinforce their existing political beliefs. In this case, there is a real subculture of “furries,” or children and adults who role-play as anthropomorphic characters, which are animals with human characteristics. There’s no evidence they are requesting litter boxes in schools. But the rumor plays into controversies over protections and accommodations for LGBTQ and transgender students in schools, and has spread as a political talking point for conservatives.