Missouri State Senators in Video Were Burning Boxes, Not Books

Two Missouri state senators participated in a fundraising event that included a demonstration of flamethrowers that were up for auction. Videos shared on Instagram falsely claimed to show the senators engaged in a “book burning.” But only empty boxes, not books, were being torched.

Efforts to ban or censor books are intensifying in the U.S., targeting titles on school shelves and in public libraries, according to data released in September by the American Library Association and PEN America.

The ALA said that between Jan. 1 and Aug. 31, the association’s Office for Intellectual...