Florida Man

2013

Date: 2013 Twitter origin, January 2019 peak · Place: Florida · @_FloridaMan Twitter · Florida's public-records 'sunshine law' · Figures: Florida's Sunshine Law, the structural cause · the @_FloridaMan Twitter account (founded 2013) · uncounted Florida-resident defendants · Tags: RegionalArchetype, TabloidFeed, SunshineLaw 01. Born of Public Records Florida Man as a meme is a side-effect of Florida's Sunshine Law, which mandates near-total public release of arrest records and police reports. Other states classify equivalent records as restricted. Florida does not. The result is that every minor American absurdity that happens in Florida is searchable and quotable. The @_FloridaMan Twitter account, launched 2013, aggregates the resulting headlines: 'Florida Man Arrested For Throwing Alligator Through Wendy's Drive-Thru Window,' 'Florida Man Steals Steaks From Walmart Then Returns To Steal Air Conditioner.' 02. Birthday Challenge In January 2019 a Twitter user posts 'google Florida Man followed by your birthday and post your result.' The challenge goes viral. Hundreds of thousands of users discover that for any date of the year, Florida has reliably produced at least one news story featuring a man arrested for something inexplicable. Florida Man is treated as a punchline. He is also, structurally, evidence that a single state's transparency policy can manufacture an entire national archetype out of the consistent availability of unflattering public records. Sources • Florida Statutes Chapter 119, the Public Records Law (1909, expanded) • Caitlin Dewey, 'Florida Man is more than a meme; he's a real and tragic American figure,' Washington Post, 14 January 2019 • Know Your Meme, 'Florida Man'