‘Haitian Migrants Are Cat Eaters’ is the Latest Republican-Made Fake News
Republican VP candidate James David Vance, 2024. X/ @arelisrhdz
September 10, 2024 Hour: 12:44 pm
This conspiracy theory seeks to divide people using lies and racism, NSC spokesperson Kirby stated.
Republican politicians, including vice-presidential candidate James David Vance, have spread the baseless claim that Haitian migrants are stealing and eating cats. This conspiracy theory has been debunked by Ohio authorities.
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On Tuesday, the controversy reached the White House, where National Security Council spokesperson John Kirby slammed these comments for their racist content and stated that U.S. citizens expect a higher standard from their politicians.
“What’s deeply concerning to us is you’ve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing, you know, 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,” he said, as reported by CNBC.
Kirby was responding to a rumor spread on social media that Haitian migrants had allegedly eaten cats and ducks in the town of Springfield, Ohio—an outright falsehood that several Republican politicians have viralized to attack immigration.
A spokesperson for Springfield informed local media in a statement that there are “no credible reports or specific claims” regarding attacks on pets by the town’s migrant community.
Vance, who is also a senator from Ohio, criticized the presence of undocumented Haitian migrants in his state and falsely claimed that “there are reports from some neighbors whose pets have been kidnapped and devoured by people who shouldn’t be in this country.”
The Republican-controlled House Judiciary Committee shared on social media an AI-generated image of presidential candidate Donald Trump protecting a cat and a duck with his arms. This conspiracy theory has also been supported by Republican Senator Ted Cruz and businessman Elon Musk, who backs Trump’s presidential campaign. Trump has promised mass deportations of migrants.
teleSUR/ JF Source: EFE – CNBC