The latest cat flub is called misinformation about whether migrants are eating them

The Springfield pet crisis: the story of how far-right activists and left-left politicians have responded to the accusations of immigrant racial harassment

The claim, which local police say is baseless, was made by far-right activists, local Republicans and neo-Nazis before being picked up by Vance. A well-known advocate for the Haitian community says she received a wave of racist harassment in the aftermath of Vance’s post.

Donald Trump and JD Vance have used the language of dehumanizing immigrants before. Accusations of immigrants being criminals, rapists, poisoning the blood of the nation have become common currency. But this week, the rhetoric seemed to hit a new low: the allegation that immigrants eat pets.

Still, the Springfield pet situation is a particularly instructive example of how right-wing media often launders and mainstreams obvious misinformation. The rumor, which reports suggest had been spreading locally for at least a month, was amplified by conservative influencers with hundreds of thousands of followers — and then mainstreamed by politicians including Vance and Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), and immigration obsessives like Elon Musk.

The News-Sun implied that the original Facebook post misconstrued Springfield with Canton, Ohio where a woman was recently arrested for allegedly killing and eating a cat in front of multiple people. Right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong — who frequently posts about US politics despite living in Malaysia — suggested the woman who ate the cat was Haitian.

That woman, Allexis Ferrell, is a US citizen, according to Daniel Di Martino, a PhD student at Columbia and fellow at the conservative Manhattan Institute who found her voter registration information. According to some reports, the rumor began before Ferrell was arrested. “We get these reports ‘the Haitians are killing ducks in a lot of our parks’ or ‘the Haitians are eating vegetables right out of the aisle at the grocery store,’” Jason Via, Springfield’s deputy director of public safety and operations, told NPR in August. “And we haven’t really seen any of that. It is really frustrating.

The migrants were eating ducks in the park said Anthony Harris at a Springfield City Commission meeting. A member of the same neo-Nazi group also attended the meeting and the group later echoed that claim on Gab. Days later, it appeared on X.

The Aurora police told AP that gang members hadn’t taken over the apartment complexes and weren’t collecting rent. Residents of one building, some of whom are Venezuelan, said the complex’s New York-based management company had neglected repairs. But the rumor continued to spread on X, where it was amplified by Musk. “Unless Trump wins,” he posted, “meet your new building managers.”

The senator asked if someone knew what was confirmed about a traffic accident that killed an 11-year old boy in Springfield last year. A child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here. In the court, the driver testified that he is in the U.S. and holds Temporary Protected status. Most Haitians in Springfield have the same immigration status as other people, according to local immigration lawyers. The anti-fascist sentiment associated with Clark’s death made his parents do not want it to be associated with his name, they told the Springfield News-Sun.

The White House was not happy with the post. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, White House spokesman John Kirby said, “You’ve got now elected officials in the Republican party pushing yet another conspiracy theory that’s just seeking to divide people based on lies — and let’s be honest — based on an element of racism.”

Observations of Harassment and Hate in the Community: How the Haitian Police Department acted against the migrant activist in Springfield, Ohio

NPR reached out to several activists in the Haitian community of Springfield Ohio, and has not heard of instances of direct harassment. NPR hasn’t heard from the Springfield Police Department.

As they played and laughed around her, emails kept landing in her inbox at a pace Williams said she had never experienced in her decade of being the president of Springfield’s NAACP chapter. In recent months, Williams has been speaking out against racism directed towards the Haitian community.

Williams had her phone go crazy on Monday while she spent time with her children and granddaughters.

Officer Via says that it’s sad that some people are using the opportunity to spread hate or fear. The Haitians are eating vegetables right out of the aisle at the grocery store and the ducks are killed in a lot of our parks. And we haven’t really seen any of that. It’s really frustrating. As a community, it’s not helpful as we try to move forward.”

Republican politicians and social media moguls continued to amplify the narrative. “Cat Lives Matter!” wrote Tom Tiffany (R-Wisc.) while Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) posted, “Protect America’s pets!”

Source: JD Vance spreads debunked claims about Haitian immigrants eating pets

Migration and Refugees in the Springfield, Haiti, community grew by the last four years: An update on the city’s immigration crisis

Springfield, a small city of around 60,000 people, has received from 15,000 to 20,000 migrants, many from Haiti, in the past four years, which has created tension as the city works to absorb so many newcomers in a short amount of time.