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    HomePodcastsAnatomy of a smear: How a lie about Haitian immigrants went viral

    Anatomy of a smear: How a lie about Haitian immigrants went viral

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    Written in a mural on the wall

    A mural is displayed on an alley downtown on September 16, 2024 in Springfield, Ohio. | Luke Sharrett/Getty Images

    When former President Donald Trump 67 million Americans Last week that immigrants were eating people’s pets in Springfield, Ohio, he was repeating a racist conspiracy theory that was years in the making — if not longer.

    Since 2020, thousands of Haitian immigrants have moved to Rust Belt cities in southwestern Ohio to take advantage of new manufacturing jobs there. As Li Zhou of Vox reports, “While population growth has helped revitalize the city, it has also put pressure on social services in the form of longer wait times at medical clinics and more competition for affordable housing, fueling some hostility to newcomers. “

    That hostility morphed into something entirely different in the days leading up to the presidential debates due to right-wing social media accounts, which Unfounded rumors about immigrants in Springfield — combined with the story of a woman in Canton, Ohio, who is not Haitian and accused of killing and eating a cat — to create an online frenzy. Since then, members of Springfield’s Haitian community Tell reporters they are nervous about leaving their homes The city is on high alert after a series of bomb threats, while Republican vice presidential nominee J.D. Vance and others Keep doubling the story you’ve created.

    Gabby Del Valle, a reporter The Verge, talked to Today, explained Host Noel King is about an ecosystem of right-wing influencers in a small town that turned lies about immigrants into a Republican campaign talking point.

    Below is a portion of their conversation, edited for length and clarity. There’s more in the full podcast, so take a listen Today, explained Wherever you get your podcast, incl Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, SpotifyAnd Stitcher.

    Noel King

    Let’s look back to when it was just an online rumor. Where does it begin?

    Gaby Del Valle

    One of the first tweets I saw was from an account called End Wakeness, which posted a screenshot of a Facebook post on September 6 that read, My friend’s neighbor’s sister’s cousin or whatever kidnapped her cat and she found it outside a house. Where Haitians live. and posted a photo of a man holding a goose and said ducks and pets were disappearing in Springfield, Ohio, a place with a large Haitian immigrant population. And then on September 8, Charlie Kirk posted the same screenshot from Facebook and Elon Musk responded by saying, apparently, people are being eaten by cats. The original End Wakeness post now has 4.9 million views. Musk’s answer to Charlie Kirk has 1.6 million views. Charlie Kirk’s post was viewed at least 4 million times. Such right-wing left Twitter’s ecosystem in part because Elon Musk was involved.

    Noel King

    What happens, usually and in this case, when Elon Musk is involved? Why does that matter?

    Gaby Del Valle

    Apart from leaving Twitter’s ownership and content control team, trust and security council… I can’t speak for sure here, but I will say that Elon Musk has several pet reasons that he posts a lot. One of which is immigration, the other of which is quote-unquote “awakening.” And there’s a sense that what Elon cares about is pushed to users in the app. And even if there aren’t any algorithmic changes Elon is putting in front of content everyone cares about, he has a lot of influence, a lot of followers, and a lot of power.

    Noel King

    ok So it is not true. This is not true in Springfield. It is not true in the way it is being presented. And then we hear it again on the debate stage. Again, there’s a round of debunking, it’s not true. Does debunking have any effect on the staying power of this rumor?

    Gaby Del Valle

    Debunking has done absolutely nothing for the staying power of rumours. In some sense, it actually kind of fuels the narrative because the narrative on the right is not like cats eating in Springfield. It’s well, you know, maybe it’s not actually happening. But even if that doesn’t happen, why is the media so focused on debunking whether or not people are eating cats in Springfield? And why aren’t they talking about the attack on Haitian immigrants in Springfield? Why are they not looking at it? On Truth Social, Trump has posted various images of his cats, cats and ducks watching the presidential debates. Arizona’s Republican Party has put up 12 billboards in the Phoenix area that read “Eat less kittens, vote Republican” This became the rallying cry of the new Republican Party.

    Cat memes are almost a shorthand for this overall belief in immigrants taking over, not just Springfield, but communities across America. It is a visual representation of what has been called the Great Replacement Theory, which is the conspiracy theory that an outside force replaces the native, often white population with imported immigrants of color. Sometimes proponents of that theory claim that Democrats are turning a blind eye to illegal immigration and allowing undocumented people to vote so they can stay in power. Sometimes a conspiracy theory is about how Democrats or other elites want to encourage demographic change. But the underlying base is always the native American population, which almost always means the white population, being replaced by non-white immigrants.

    Noel King

    Anti-immigrant rhetoric and the kind of outrageous lies that accompany it are part of an all-too-familiar playbook for Donald Trump. Does 2024 feel different to you, for example, 2020 or 2016?

    Gaby Del Valle

    I would say yes and no. As such, Trump’s 2016 campaign famously began with these racist claims about Mexican immigrants being rapists and murderers, very bad people, etc. So I think that is its logical conclusion. This is pure, colorless racism. And the point is to dehumanize Haitians. But it has certainly grown. Much more advanced than before. [In] In some circles on right-wing Twitter, people are talking about the connection between race and IQ. And the implication and sometimes just the direct statement that immigrants from Haiti and elsewhere are not intelligent enough to assimilate into American society. And for them, it’s more than culture. It’s more than skin color. It’s that kind of biological hatred. And it is extreme rhetoric that is not only unchallenged, but has become more extreme over the years.

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