Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets and Geese Hoax

Submission 29,939

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Overview

Haitian Immigrants Eating Pets and Geese Hoax refers to several unverified reports of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, killing and eating local wildlife such as park geese and ducks, as well as a report of a Haitian household killing a neighbor's cat. The rumors, a part of a larger discussion surrounding a recent influx of Haitian immigrants in the town and current presidential administration's involvement in it, inspired various memes, including AI-generated imagery of cats and ducks supporting former President Donald Trump in the 2024 United States Presidential Election. After spreading widely online and garnering considerable news coverage, the rumors were confirmed to be a hoax in mid-September 2024, with the Ohioan woman who started them saying she regretted it and the backlash it caused against Haitians in Ohio.

Background

In August 2024, the American town of Springfield, Ohio, attracted media attention after it was mentioned by Republican Vice Presidential candidate J.D. Vance in the context of migration politics, as the town of 60,000 residents experienced an influx of an estimated 15,000-20,000 migrants over a period of four years, many of them from Haiti.^[1]^[2]

The reports mentioned below originate from the currently private Facebook^[3] community Springfield Ohio Crime & Information.

On September 5th, 2024, X^[4] user @BuckeyeGirrl posted a screenshot of a post in the Springfield Ohio Crime & Information Facebook group made by an unknown user which claimed that their neighbor found their missing cat hanging from a branch at a neighboring Haitian household, with both the Facebook post and @BuckeyeGirrl also claiming that the Haitian immigrants were killing park ducks and geese for food. The post (shown below) garnered over 1,800 reposts and 7,500 likes in four days.

Developments

Starting on September 6th, 2024, X^[5]^[6] / Twitter user @captivedreamer7 made several additional reposts of Facebook posts from the group purporting that Haitian immigrants were noticed taking park geese and ducks, among other complaints. Notably, on that day, X^[7] user @EndWokeness posted a photograph of a man carrying a goose by its legs presumably taken from the Facebook group together with the report about the dead cat. The post (shown below) garnered over 20,000 reposts and 68,000 likes in three days.

The image of a Black man holding a goose and walking in the street was originally posted to /r/Columbus^[15] on July 28th, 2024 by Redditor /u/isitmeyourelooking4x. The post gathered over 700 upvotes in two months.

On September 8th, the account posted^[8] a video of a local resident expressing his concerns during the Springfield City Commission Meeting on August 27th, 2024. The video (shown below) received over 28,000 reposts and 106,000 likes on X in one day.

They're in the park grabbing up ducks by their neck and cutting their heads off and walking off with them and eating them!

Also on September 8th, multiple right-wing politicians, commentators and influencers made posts spreading the rumor, including a post by J.D. Vance that garnered over 22,000 reposts and 76,000 likes on X^[9] in one day (shown below).

On September 9th, 2024, Forbes^[10] reported that Springfield Police investigations commander Mike Kranz said that there have been "no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community."

Reference At September 2024 Presidential Debate

On September 10th, 2024, a presidential debate was held between candidates Donald Trump and Kamala Harris. Around the 33:10 mark of The Wall Street Journal's YouTube^[14] stream of the debate, while discussing immigration, Trump says, "In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in, they're eating the cats. They're eating the pets of the people that live there and this is what's happening in our country and it's a shame." After making the claim, Trump was fact-checked and told there are no credible reports of immigrants eating pets in Springfield.

Originator Found, Regrets Post

On September 13th, 2024, NBC^[16] tracked down Erika Lee, describing her as a catalyst for the rumor. In a Facebook post, Lee wrote she heard from a neighbor that the neighbor's cat had gone missing and blamed her Haitian neighbors for the disappearance. Lee said she regretted the post and the backlash it caused against the local Haitian community in Ohio.

Vance Says He 'Created' The Story

On September 14th, 2024, JD Vance appeared on CNN and went viral for saying he "created" the story. When pressed to explain if he meant he literally invented the story, he said he meant he was creating media attention on the story.

Online Reactions

The viral spread of the rumor was followed by an influx of various topical memes, including AI. Notably, on September 8th, 2024, X^[11] user @baltic_dan posted a The Simpsons meme that garnered over 1,000 reposts and 11,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Also on September 8th, X^[12] user @TrumpsRare posted an AI-generated video of Donald Trump kissing a duck captioned, "I love you. I would never let the Haitians eat you." The upload (shown below) received over 1.8 million views, 8,100 reposts and 52,000 likes in one day.

On September 9th, 2024, entrepreneur Elon Musk made several posts on X referencing the controversy and rumors. For example, on that day, Musk posted^[13] a caption meme based on an image from The Simpsons that garnered over 17,000 reposts and 212,000 likes in one day (shown below).

Various Examples

Donald Trump Cat and Duck AI Images

Donald Trump Cat and Duck AI Images, also known as Cats For Trump or Ducks For Trump, refers to a series of AI-generated images showing former United States President Donald Trump holding cats and ducks, often rescuing them or running away with the animals, that are then "supporting" him in the 2024 Presidential Election. The artificial intelligence images went viral in early September 2024 as part of a rumor about Haitian immigrants in Ohio purportedly eating pets, notably including a neighbor's cat and geese, which were then used by Trump supporters to joke about the recent influx of Haitians in the country. Despite local authorities refuting the claims of Haitian immigrants eating people's animals, the AI pictures depicting Trump rescuing them were widely spread on social media, particularly on X / Twitter.

They're Eating the Dogs

They're Eating the Dogs is a quote spoken by former President Donald Trump during the September 2024 US presidential debate between Trump and Kamala Harris. The quote references the unverified rumors of Haitian immigrants eating pets and geese in Springfield, Ohio. After saying "they're eating the dogs, they're eating the pets," Trump was fact-checked live. The quote inspired reactions and memes on social media, including a trend on TikTok where users film their dogs listening to Trump say the line.

Alf Eating Cats

Alf Eating Cats refers to a series of memes referencing the 1980s sitcom character Alf and his desire to eat cats, specifically the cat belonging to the Tanner family, who he lives with. Most commonly, the memes use an image of Alf making a cat sandwich by putting a cat between two pieces of bread. Memes referencing Alf's hunger for cats appeared online occasionally throughout the 2000s. In September 2024, the memes saw an increase in popularity following the September 2024 U.S. presidential debate, during which Donald Trump said "they're eating the pets", referencing the rumors of Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio eating pets, including cats.