Trump Fact Check: No Immigrants Eat Pets

Midway through their meeting on Tuesday night in Philadelphia, Trump attacked Harris over US border policy and claimed that migrants from the Ohio city of Springfield were “eating the pets of the people who live there.” ABC News anchor David Muir quickly stepped in to clarify that the network had contacted the city manager, who said there were no credible reports of pets being injured by immigrants.

Trump’s claim echoed apocryphal stories circulating around the world on X and other social media sites that Haitian migrants in Springfield were behind a local crime wave and to blame for the disappearance of cats and dogs. Supporters of the former president — including X owner Elon Musk, who has nearly 200 million followers on the platform — promoted and reposted the claims in the days leading up to the debate.

The episode highlighted the risk for political candidates, including Trump and his right-wing allies, of espousing conspiracy theories that don’t survive the light of day outside of social media. It quickly became a flashpoint for derision of Trump and a symbol of everything that went wrong for the former president during his debate with Harris. By Wednesday morning, he was signaling there might not be a rematch.

Trump has tried to highlight immigration in his campaign against Harris and has often turned to it during the debate, but repeating the hoax about Ohio’s Haitian immigrants won’t help the former president, said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist and Marco veteran. . Rubio’s 2016 presidential campaign.

“It’s a distraction at best,” Conant said. “At worst, it reminds people of all the craziness that comes with Trump.”

The situation in Springfield has been “largely ignored by the mainstream liberal media until now,” Trump campaign spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt said. “President Trump will continue to give voice to Americans who are concerned about the influx of illegals and the rise of migrant crime in their communities.”

Prominent figures often use trending narratives to find an audience or appeal to their existing followers, according to experts who study disinformation. The end goal is often to amplify their rhetoric rather than advance truth-based talking points, they said.

“We’ll often see influencers capitalize on conspiracy theories and falsehoods to manipulate or sway public discourse or opinion, even when I don’t believe them, because the narratives themselves are absurd,” said Lisa Kaplan, founder and CEO of Alethea. an anti-disinformation firm. “This is usually done for political, personal or financial gain – and to generate more online engagement.”

Trump’s comments drew the audience he wanted: fans on X, who responded by generating artificial intelligence memes depicting cats, dogs and geese pleading with voters to save them by electing Trump. Some of the same concepts were used to mock Trump for believing something so extreme.

The conversation is part of a trend at the network, fueled by its owner Musk, to embrace anti-immigrant sentiment. Musk, who is endorsing Trump for president, has previously come under fire for endorsing fake content that has led to violence against migrants in the UK.

“It appears the campaign is hoping that spreading such claims, regardless of accuracy, will fuel public hostility toward migrants,” said Jared Holt, senior research analyst at the Institute for Strategic Dialogue. “Hatred against migrants and minorities has produced a bloody trail of tragedies in the United States, and the leaders who encourage that hostility create risks for the people they target.”

Since Musk acquired Twitter for $44 billion in late 2022 and turned it into X, he has promoted an all-out approach to content on the platform, including drastically reducing staff moderation content and embracing himself the conspiracies.

Rumors about Haitian migrants in Springfield were also amplified on X by Trump’s running mate, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, in posts on Monday and Tuesday before the debate that garnered millions of views.

About 15,000 Haitians have come to Springfield legally in the past few years under temporary protection status as they flee poverty and violence in their home country. Their arrival has overwhelmed the health care system and public services in the city of 58,000, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday.

DeWine called on the federal government to do more to support communities affected by such increases, but cautioned against blaming Haitian immigrants.

“The Haitians that are here are hardworking people,” DeWine said during a news conference in Columbus before the debate. “They came to Springfield, Ohio for work and many, many, many of them work and hold positions in Springfield.”

(Updates with Trump campaign comment in seventh paragraph)