PHILADELPHIA — A baseless claim that illegal immigrants from Haiti have been eating domestic pets in a small Ohio city has been repeated by Donald Trump.
During ABC’s presidential debate, Trump said: “In Springfield, they are eating the dogs. The people that came in, they are eating the cats. They’re eating – they are eating the pets of the people that live there.”
But city officials have told BBC Verify there have been “no credible reports” that this has actually happened.
The baseless claim had spread on social media, with Republican vice-presidential candidate JD Vance promoting it on X. As of today, the post has had more than 11 million views.
U.S. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby called Vance’s comments “dangerous” and a “conspiracy theory… based on an element of racism.”
Where did the claim come from?
The claim appears to have come from a number of different sources which have been turned into a cohesive – though baseless – story by pro-Trump social media accounts.
At a 27 August meeting of Springfield’s city commission, a local resident who describes himself as a social media influencer launched into a speech against Haitian immigrants.
He gave a long list of grievances, including that they were slaughtering park ducks for food, and accused city officials of being paid to bring in immigrants, but provided no evidence for these claims.
A claim about a cat being killed by Haitian immigrants was made on a Facebook post focusing on crime in Springfield, and attributed by the poster to the friend of a neighbour’s daughter.
The claims were also reflected in a photo posted on Reddit of a man carrying what appears to be a dead goose in Columbus, Ohio.
Separately, a news report from late August about a woman arrested for killing and eating a cat has also been circulating online.
Many right-wing commentators have referred to the woman as Haitian and pointed to the report as evidence for the baseless claim that Haitian immigrants have been engaged in similar activity.
However, the incident took place in Canton, Ohio, about 2.5 hours away from Springfield, and while the news report does not mention her nationality, the New York Times has reported that state records show she was born in Ohio.
Canton Police told the BBC: “We have not dealt with any complaints of Haitian immigrants at all.”
In addition to Vance, Elon Musk has also posted memes referring to the baseless claims which have been viewed millions of times.
Charlie Kirk, the CEO of conservative activist group Turning Point, said: “Residents of Springfield, OH are reporting that Haitians are eating their family pets.”
And official Republican party social media channels, such as the Republican House Judiciary Committee X account, have also referred to the claims.
The account posted an AI-generated image of former president Trump hugging a duck and a cat with the caption “Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!”.
That post was seen nearly 70 million times.
BBC Verify spoke to the Springfield City Commission about the claims.
Officials told us: “There have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community.”
On Tuesday, Vance appeared to row back on his previous comment and said on X: “It’s possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false.”
The BBC has contacted the Trump campaign for comment.
Haitian immigrants in Springfield
Springfield, a rust belt city in south-west Ohio, is home to about 60,000 people and has seen thousands of immigrants arrive in recent years.
Many are from Haiti, and city officials say up to 20,000 have made Springfield home in recent years, reversing a long decline that saw the city’s population drop by more than 20,000 over the last 60 years.
The new arrivals have revitalized local industrial companies but have also put a strain on public services. Vance, a senator representing Ohio who grew up about an hour away from Springfield, has repeatedly talked about the city on the campaign trail.
By MERLYN THOMAS and MIKE WENDLING/BBC News