18 December 2024

🏆🔥Announcing our 2024 Lie of the Year 17DEZ24

THIS is nothing to be proud of but I can assure you (NOT MY) pres elect drumpf / trump and his fotze (NOT MY) vice-pres elect vance are too evil as well as being too stupid to be ashamed. From PolitiFact, and with this neo-nazi, fascist, authoritarian, corrupt administration taking power on 20 JAN 25 I hope you will join me in making a donation to PolitiFact because they are going to be extremely busy.

Announcing our 2024 Lie of the Year

DONATE

‘They’re eating the pets:’ Trump, Vance earn PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year for claims about Haitians

Underlying 2024’s most outrageous political lie was a truth — some might even argue a confession — voiced by an accomplice:

To get media attention, then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance acknowledged, sometimes “I have to create stories.”

And so, with a brazen disregard for facts, Donald Trump and his running mate repeatedly peddled a created story that in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants were eating pet dogs and cats.

With this claim, amplified before 67 million television viewers in his debate against Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris, Trump took his anti-migrant, the U.S. border-is-out-of-control campaign agenda to a new level.

“In Springfield, they're eating the dogs,” Trump said Sept. 10. “The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating, 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.”

City and county officials said repeatedly that it was not happening.

We follow the facts and share what we learn so you can make your own decisions. Support our mission today.

Yes, I support PolitiFact!

Make a tax-deductible donation to make this message go away.

Rebuttals did not diminish the consequences: Dozens of bomb threats at schools, grocery stores and government buildings. Pleas from locals to leave them alone. A continued lack of constructive debate on immigration and border control issues.

Don't have time to read our Lie of the Year report? Listen to the audio version

After the threats subsided, some Haitians didn’t want to go in public or send their children to school. The police department sent an officer to protect churchgoers at a Haitian Creole Sunday afternoon mass. Haitian restaurant owners and schoolchildren heard taunts from people using Trump’s words.

“‘Dad, do we eat dogs at the house?’” Jacob Payen, a Haitian Community Alliance spokesperson and business owner, recalled his 7-year-old son asking.

The Haitian population in Springfield had swelled since 2021 as people fled Haiti’s violence and instability. City officials estimated 12,000 to 20,000 Haitians had come to this city of about 58,000 residents in 2020, after hearing about jobs and low living costs. Most Haitians live in the U.S. legally under a temporary federal protection President Joe Biden extended.

The sudden population surge came with growing pains on housing, health services, road safety and schools. When the local conversation turned to unfounded rumors and fearmongering, Trump and Vance seized an opportunity.

Vance’s central role in fanning unwarranted attention on a city in the state he represents in the U.S. Senate caused resentment among some locals.

“Vance threw us under the bus,” said Rob Baker, a political science professor since 1987 at Springfield’s Wittenberg University.

PolitiFact, which for 16 years has issued a year-end lie of the year report, keenly understands that when emotions collide with facts, emotions often prevail. To wit: Trump increased his voter support in Clark County, Ohio, which includes Springfield this year above what he garnered in his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

In choosing the 2024 Lie of the Year, the claims by Vance and Trump about Haitians eating pets stood out.

It was an absurd statement that Trump raised unprompted on the debate stage.

And neither Trump nor Vance stopped there. They stuck with the narrative for the rest of the campaign, over the objections of allies who debunked it and pleaded with them to let it go. When challenged by voters and interviewers, Trump said he heard it on TV; Vance said constituents had called his office with the claim.

“What am I supposed to do? Hang up the phone and tell them they’re a liar because the media doesn’t want me to talk about it?” Vance said in October.

Emboldened by Vance’s embrace of the rumor, Trump’s debate outburst cemented lasting consequences, stigmatizing a town and its residents in the name of campaign rage. For those reasons, Trump and Vance own the 2024 Lie of the Year.

Read the Lie of the Year

Reporters Amy Sherman and Maria Ramirez Uribe traveled to Springfield, Ohio, to interview residents whose lives were affected by the pet-eating lie. This marked Maria’s second time talking to community members about how the unwarranted attention affected their daily lives.

‘They’re eating the pets:’ Trump, Vance earn PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year for claims about Haitians

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — Underlying 2024’s most outrageous political lie was a truth — some might even argue a confession — voiced by an accomplice:

To get media attention, then-vice presidential candidate JD Vance acknowledged, sometimes "I have to create stories."

And so, with a brazen disregard for facts, Donald Trump and his running mate repeatedly peddled a created story that in Springfield, Ohio, Haitian immigrants were eating pet dogs and cats.

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs," Trump said Sept. 10. "The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating, 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."

City and county officials said repeatedly that it was not happening.

"‘Dad, do we eat dogs at the house?’" Jacob Payen, a Haitian Community Alliance spokesperson and business owner, recalled his 7-year-old son asking.

Vance’s central role in fanning unwarranted attention on a city in the state he represents in the U.S. Senate caused resentment among some locals.

"Vance threw us under the bus," said Rob Baker, a political science professor since 1987 at Springfield’s Wittenberg University.

PolitiFact, which for 16 years has issued a year-end lie of the year report, keenly understands that when emotions collide with facts, emotions often prevail. To wit: Trump increased his voter support in Clark County, Ohio, which includes Springfield, this year above what he garnered in his 2016 and 2020 campaigns.

In choosing the 2024 Lie of the Year, the claims by Vance and Trump about Haitians eating pets stood out.

It was an absurd statement that Trump raised unprompted on the debate stage.

"What am I supposed to do? Hang up the phone and tell them they’re a liar because the media doesn’t want me to talk about it?" Vance said in October.

An image of a broken heart is fixed across the street from City Hall on Sept. 17, 2024, in Springfield, Ohio. (AP)

Anatomy of a lie: How real strains primed voters for a baseless rumor

Haitians in Springfield fled their home country after their family members were killed, their businesses were burned down and their lives were endangered. The country was thrown into chaos, its capital city controlled by gangs, after the 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moïse, an earthquake and a tropical storm.

As their population grew in Springfield, the Haitian immigrants filled jobs and opened restaurants and stores.

Some longtime residents grew irritated by the strain on city services, such as wait times for public health services, a housing shortage and rising rents.

In August 2023, a tragedy deepened the resentment: Hermanio Joseph, a Haitian who is in the U.S. legally and lacked a valid driver’s license, drove a minivan into a school bus, injuring about 20 children and killing Aiden Clark, 11. It was the first day of school. Joseph was found guilty of vehicular homicide and involuntary manslaughter and sentenced to prison.

Angry residents attended city commission meetings over the next year to ask questions about how so many Haitians ended up in Springfield. They said the Haitians didn’t know driving laws or cultural norms and didn’t speak English.

Local leaders acknowledged the road dangers and overburdened public services. They described steps they and the state had taken to mitigate the strains, such as hiring interpreters and launching drivers’ education classes. City Manager Bryan Heck said Springfield had struggled with housing scarcity for years before the Haitians arrived.

On July 8, Heck sent a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Banking Committee, copying Vance, requesting federal help. The next day, at a banking committee meeting, Vance highlighted Springfield’s housing shortage and demands on hospital and school services among the "very real human consequences" of immigration. Trump announced Vance as his running mate about a week later.

Discussion of real tension quickly turned to hearsay molded by racist tropes.

The earliest rumors PolitiFact found of Haitians stealing and eating pets and geese came in August amid a neo-Nazi group’s protest. On Aug. 10, a dozen people carrying swastika flags marched downtown, protesting the city’s Haitian immigrants. The national white supremacist group Blood Tribe, which has opposed immigration around the country, posted on Gab, a social networking platform used by far-right groups, to take credit for the march.

"Once haitians swarm into a town animals start to disappear," an anonymous user commented.

That post garnered only a few likes and comments.

On Aug. 26, the Clark County Sheriff’s Office received a call from someone who said he saw four Haitians carrying geese. Wildlife officials found no evidence to corroborate the claim.

On social media the same day, users amplified similar claims with thirdhand accounts. In an Aug. 26 Facebook post, a woman said her work partner’s brother-in-law saw a Haitian man cut the heads off geese in front of children. She tagged Springfield resident Anthony Harris, who told the story at a city commission meeting the next day, adding that the man ate the beheaded geese.

On a private Facebook group about crime in Springfield, a resident said Haitians stole and ate a neighbor’s daughter’s friend’s cat. (The woman later took down the post and said she regretted it.) In the first week of September, verified accounts on X, sent the claim viral when they posted a screenshot of the Facebook post.

"Springfield is a small town in Ohio. 4 years ago, they had 60k residents. Under Harris and Biden, 20,000 Haitian immigrants were shipped to the town," End Wokeness, a pro-Trump X account with more than 3 million followers, posted Sept. 6. "Now ducks and pets are disappearing."

End Wokeness’ X post, which has 5 million views, included a photo of a Black man holding what appears to be a dead goose. The photo was taken in Columbus, Ohio, about 48 miles east of Springfield, according to a July Reddit post.

Sept. 9 and 10: The claim explodes on a national stage

Vance was the first from the Republican presidential ticket to pounce.

"Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio," Vance posted Sept. 9 on X. "Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country."

The same day, a Trump campaign account posted on X, "President Trump will deport migrants who eat pets. Kamala Harris will send them to your town next. Make your choice, America."

On Sept. 9, PolitiFact and other news organizations fact-checked the claims that Haitians were eating pets. The reports said there was no evidence of it.

Shortly before 10 a.m. on Sept. 10, debate day, Vance wrote on X, "It's possible, of course, that all of these rumors will turn out to be false." He tapped into Aiden’s death. "Do you know what's confirmed? That a child was murdered by a Haitian migrant who had no right to be here."

At 4:15 p.m., Springfield Mayor Rob Rue and Clark County Commission President Melanie Flax Wilt, both Republicans, held a press conference to respond to the false pet-eating claims.

"We have not been able to verify any credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured, or abused by individuals within the immigrant community," Rue said.

The Trump campaign was undeterred. At around 5 p.m., Trump shared on Truth Social images of an army of MAGA hat-wearing cats holding guns and another of Trump seated among fluffy cats and ducks in his plane.

A couple of hours before the debate, Aiden’s father, Nathan Clark, pleaded with politicians to stop describing his son’s death as a murder.

"Using Aiden as a political tool is, to say the least, reprehensible for any political purpose," Clark said at a 7 p.m. city commission meeting. He called out multiple politicians, including Vance and Trump. "They have spoken my son's name and used his death for political gain. This needs to stop now."

At the Philadelphia prime-time debate, Trump needed no prompting. In response to the night’s first question about the economy, Trump said immigrants in Springfield were "taking over."

A half hour later, when asked about how he pressured Republicans to thwart a bipartisan border security bill, Trump said:

"In Springfield, they're eating the dogs. The people that came in. They're eating the cats. They're eating, 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."

ABC News debate moderator David Muir told Trump that the city manager (Heck) said there had been no credible reports of Haitians harming pets.

Trump disagreed. His source? Television.

"The people on television say, ‘My dog was taken and used for food,’" Trump said.

By the end of the night, Springfield had ricocheted into a global story.

Trump repeats false claim about immigrants 'eating' dogs, cats' in Ohio

Former President Trump repeated a debunked claim about Haitian immigrants harming household pets in Ohio which moderators replied to with a fact-check.

After the debate, CNN’s Kaitlan Collins asked Vance, "Why push something that’s not true?"

Vance once again cited his constituents, saying his office had received first- and secondhand accounts.

Collins replied, "I mean, if someone calls your office and says they saw Bigfoot, that doesn't mean they saw Bigfoot. You have a sense of responsibility as a running mate, and he certainly does as the candidate, to not promote false information."

Later that night, Trump shared a Truth Social post saying an Ohio woman ate a cat in front of her neighbors. But that incident happened in Canton, Ohio, and the woman was not a Haitian immigrant.

Full steam to Election Day: Trump brings lie to battlegrounds, Vance says they had to ‘create stories’

Springfield faced its first bomb threats Sept. 12, two days after the debate. Over the next few days, more than 30 bomb threats forced city hall, elementary schools, Wittenberg University, Clark State College, Springfield Regional Medical Center, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, two Walmarts and a Kroger grocery store to lock down, evacuate or temporarily close. Republican Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said the bomb threats were hoaxes, many coming from overseas.

With Springfield rattled, Trump retold the story about pet-eating migrants to Arizona voters.

"Recording of 911 calls even show residents are reporting that the migrants are walking off with the town's geese. They're taking the geese, you know, where the geese are, in the park, in the lake, and even walking off with their pets. ‘My dog's been taken. My dog's been stolen,’" Trump said Sept. 12 in Tucson.

On Sept. 13, a reporter asked Trump why he was still spreading the false story, citing the bomb threats that followed the debate.

"The real threat is what’s happening at our border," Trump said.

Vance and Trump eventually pivoted from the pets to the city’s other issues — grossly inflating the problems.

Vance twisted data about communicable diseases and the city’s murder rate. Trump wildly exaggerated the immigrants’ effect on schools, saying Haitian schoolchildren "take the place of our children in school," and "each one will have a private interpreter." The school district hired several English as-a-second-language teachers and Haitian Creole interpreters as the number of students rose from 200 to 1,200 in two years.

Trump name-dropped Springfield dozens of times as an example of a city hijacked by immigrants. He proposed a solution: mass deportation.

"We will do large deportations from Springfield, Ohio. Large deportations. We're going to get these people out," Trump told reporters Sept. 13 in California.

Although most Haitians in Springfield are legally allowed to stay in the U.S. through February 2026, Trump has promised to end their protections.

In national Sunday show interviews, Vance accused the national media of ignoring Springfield’s immigration story until he and Trump "started talking about cat memes."

"If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do," Vance said Sept. 15 on CNN’s "State of the Union."

Vance defends pet-eating claims, says he's willing to 'create stories'

51,944 views Sep 16, 2024

Republican vice presidential nominee JD Vance defended throwing Springfield, Ohio, into the national spotlight on Sunday amid bomb threats in the city and pleas from local officials to stop. “If I have to create stories so that the American media actually pays attention to the suffering of the American people, then that’s what I’m going to do,” Vance told CNN. READ MORE: https://www.politico.com/news/2024/09...

On CBS News’ "Face the Nation," Vance again said he was just channeling constituents’ concerns.

"Now, maybe all of these constituents are lying to me," Vance said, calling on the media to do "some real investigation."

Many local, national and international reporters did investigate, traveling to Springfield. They found no evidence to validate the lie.

In an Oct. 16 Univision town hall, a Republican Arizona voter who lives near the U.S. border with Mexico asked Trump if he really believed that Haitians were eating pets.

"I was just saying what was reported," Trump said.

On Oct. 20, Fox News host Howard Kurtz pushed Trump about not acknowledging he had spread a falsehood.

"Why not say now, ‘Well, look, that turned out not to be true?’" Kurtz asked.

Trump said: "I don't know if it's true or not true. I read something," and "I don't think it's been debunked at all."

Residents face fear and harassment

On the days of back-to-back bomb threats, Marie Morett, who was working as a bilingual assistant for Springfield area schools, said teachers told elementary school students they were going on a field trip. But they were seeking safety at evacuation centers.

Morett sat with students for hours as they waited for parents to pick them up. She said she had to take breaks often to collect herself.

"When you have to assist one building with bomb threats, and the following day you have a second one and the third day you have another one, you're like, OK, it's just a matter of time before they come after the building I'm working at," Morett said.

A week after the debate and heaviest period of bomb threats, parents were still afraid to send their children to school. On Sept. 17, one Springfield elementary school had about 200 of 500 children absent, Springfield City Schools Superintendent Robert Hill said at a press conference.

"There is still a high level of fear due to these unfounded threats and hoaxes that have marred our existence really for going on a week now," Hill said.

Payen, the Haitian Community Alliance spokesperson, told his first grader son that the people asking whether his family ate dogs were joking. But Payen, who moved to Springfield in 2021 after decades living elsewhere in the U.S., knew it wasn’t a joke.

"He gets bullied because his parents supposedly eat dogs and cats," Payen said. "So, this is something my son is going to live with for a long time, and we're not gonna be able to change that fact."

Karl Mattila, left, and his wife, Linda, of Medway, Ohio, talk Sept. 16, 2024, with Haitian and longtime Springfield resident Jacob Payen at Rose Goute Creole Restaurant in Springfield, Ohio. (AP)

Haitian restaurant owners fielded threatening and demeaning emails and phone calls, some asking whether they served cat or dog.

"I said, ‘No. I don’t have cat. I have chicken,’" said Romane Pierre, manager of Rose Goute Creole Restaurant. "I tried to be polite."

DeWine, who was born in Springfield, became the most prominent Republican to challenge Trump and Vance’s rhetoric and defend the Haitians. DeWine and his wife, Fran started a school in Haiti in memory of their daughter Becky, who died in a 1993 car accident.

DeWine said in a Dec. 5 press conference that business owners have told him that they wouldn’t be able to meet the demands for their products without the Haitian workers.

"That's just a fact," he said.

Before the debate, Jamie McGregor, CEO of McGregor Metal, spoke to national news outlets about the benefits of hiring Haitian workers.

"I wish I had 30 more," McGregor told PBS in a Sept. 9 story.

By the end of the month, McGregor received death threats. He told The New York Times the FBI showed up at his company and advised him on how to keep his family and business safe. He bought a gun, something he’d vowed never to do.

As the pet-eating lie stoked fears and threats, local residents said it also prompted support.

Out-of-towners patronized the city’s Haitian restaurants. A foundation donated 10 driving simulators. People as far away as Texas and California donated to the United Way’s Springfield Unity Fund.

"We choose love over lies," one person wrote in a comment on the fund’s donation page. "You are welcome here. Praying for you!"

The Sunday after the presidential election, congregants of the Church of the Resurrection in Solon, Ohio, drove three hours to attend an afternoon mass for Haitians and have dinner at Springfield’s St. Raphael's Catholic Church. The church members brought a big poster board with handwritten messages: "We are glad you are here."

A poster board with handwritten messages of support from congregants of the Church of the Resurrection in Solon, Ohio, to Haitians is seen Dec. 3, 2024, in Springfield’s St. Raphael's Catholic Church. (Maria Ramirez Uribe/PolitiFact)

Attendance at the Haitian mass has dropped. Haitian leaders told PolitiFact that they have heard of Haitians moving to other cities in Ohio, Massachusetts or Canada. Some Haitians fear that when Trump is inaugurated Jan. 20, they will be an early target for mass deportations.

Margery Koveleski, a New York-born Springfield resident of Haitian descent, helps translate for Haitians as they navigate their new lives. Now, she says she’s turned into a travel agent, booking travel for Haitians who want to leave.

If Trump succeeds in ending their Temporary Protected Status, many of Springfield’s Haitian immigrants would have to go through immigration court before being deported. There, they could make a case for asylum, which would allow them to stay in the U.S.

Since his election win, Trump hasn’t mentioned Springfield or singled out its Haitian residents as a target for deportation. In a Dec. 8 interview on "Meet the Press," Trump said he would prioritize immigrants in the country illegally who have a criminal record.

Payen said that doesn’t eliminate Haitians’ fears.

"You cannot change the whole fact you already told these people you're gonna do a mass deportation, starting with Springfield, Ohio," Payen said.

Trump tapped into voters’ feelings about immigration. He says it worked.

In his Time magazine 2024 "Person of the Year" interview, Trump said it was important to discuss immigration, even if his details were exaggerated.

"The country was angry because of immigration, because of the people, you know, millions and millions of people. I was saying it could be 21 million people," Trump told Time. "They were saying a much lesser number, but it wasn't a much lesser number. But even if it was, it was irrelevant, because it was — they were allowing anybody to come into our country."

The number of border encounters under Biden’s tenure is about 10.6 million, as of October, or half of Trump’s 21-million figure.

A significant swath of voters believed Trump’s comments about Haitians.

A YouGov poll conducted Sept. 11 and 12 asked respondents if Haitians were abducting cats and dogs and eating them. It found that nearly half of Republicans said it was definitely or probably true as did about one quarter of independents. A Washington Post poll in early October of Ohio voters found that among Republicans, 42% said Trump was telling the truth when he said Haitian immigrants were eating people’s pets. (The vast majority of Democrats in both polls said it was false.)

Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Immigration Lab at American University and co-author of "Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions," said Trump’s Haitian migrant rhetoric moved the immigration conversation from asylum seekers at the southwest border to a small Ohio town.

"While false and widely fact-checked, it was effective because it combined our love for pets with xenophobia," Castañeda said.

About 64% of voters in Clark County, in which Springfield is the largest city, voted for Trump in 2024, up from his 61% share of the 2020 vote and 57% share of the 2016 vote. Trump won the Springfield-area precincts by slightly more than 50%.

Austin Kocher, a Syracuse University research assistant professor who used to run an Ohio immigrant rights organization, said Trump’s massive platform legitimized the hoaxes and kept them circulating long after they were disproved.

"It is important that we have a robust public debate about our broken immigration system," Kocher said. "But when healthy disagreement gives way to utter fabrication, real people can — and do — get hurt."

PolitiFact Researcher Caryn Baird contributed to this report.

RELATED: ‘A defining moment’: Here is PolitiFact readers’ choice for 2024 Lie of the Year

RELATED: A history of PolitiFact’s Lies of the Year, from 2009 to 2024

Enter your email

Our Sources

PolitiFact, Authorities rebut claims that Haitian immigrants are eating cats, waterfowl in Ohio town, Sept. 9, 2024

PolitiFact, Trump repeats baseless claims that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are eating pets, Sept. 11, 2024

PolitiFact, Arrest of a Canton, Ohio, woman unrelated to baseless claims about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Sept. 12, 2024

PolitiFact, ‘I am afraid’: The aftermath of Springfield, Ohio, misinformation on Haitians who live there, Sept. 13, 2024

PolitiFact, Vance cherry-picks data to claim 81% murder spike amid Haitian migrant influx in Springfield, Ohio, Sept. 15, 2024

PolitiFact, A caller told Clark County, Ohio, officials he saw Haitians steal geese. They found no proof. Sept. 15, 2024

PolitiFact, Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bernie Moreno pushes unfounded migrant pet-eating narrative, Sept. 18, 2024

PolitiFact, 4 fact-checks from JD Vance's CNN interview with Dana Bash about Haitian immigrants in Ohio, Sept. 16, 2024

PolitiFact, Dave McCormick exaggerates Charleroi, Pa., population growth from immigration, Sept. 19, 2024

PolitiFact, Trump said every Haitian student in Springfield "will have a private interpreter." That’s False. Sept. 23, 2024

PolitiFact, Not-so-innocent ‘cat memes’: AI creations give life to unsubstantiated Springfield, Ohio, claims, Sept. 25, 2024

PolitiFact, Communicable disease rates in Springfield, Ohio, have not ‘skyrocketed,’ despite JD Vance’s claim, Sept. 26, 2024

PolitiFact, Lies about Haitians killing pet cats spreads from Springfield, Ohio, to Bangor, Maine, Sept. 26, 2024

PolitiFact, Immigration experts say JD Vance is wrong. Haitians under temporary programs are in the US legally. Oct. 3, 2024

PolitiFact, Donald Trump has repeated immigration falsehoods throughout the 2024 campaign. Here are the facts. Nov. 4, 2024

Dayton Daily News, Springfield pastors to push reform; Group traveling to D.C. to advocate immigration issue. April 29, 2014 (accessed in Nexis)

Dayton Daily News, Mayor would shelter children; City called open to taking those fleeing Central America. July 18, 2014

Foreign Policy, The Real Lesson of Springfield, Ohio, Sept. 27, 2024

Springfield News-Sun, Haitian immigrant patients more than triple at Springfield's Rocking Horse health center, May 14, 2023

WCPO, 4 days of threats in Springfield: A timeline of lockdowns, closures after post claiming Haitians eating pets, Sept. 16, 2024

Clark County, Haitian Influx Frequently Asked Questions, Sept. 25, 2024

Strictly Speaking With Bob Frantz, Interview with Tom Homan, Nov. 15, 2024

The Christian Science Monitor, What an Ohio town reveals about the decline of hope in US politics, Sept. 15, 2016

Springfield News-Sun, Crowd questions Springfield leaders on immigration issues after bus crash; City officials work to ease tensions and offer answers surrounding fast-growing Haitian population. Aug. 30, 2023

Springfield News-Sun, Mayor: Group’s use of swastika flags, guns ‘not peaceful’ but city was watching, Aug. 13, 2024

Springfield News-Sun, Clark County leaders work to provide driving education for local Haitians, Sept. 24, 2023

Al Jazeera, How a child's death caused an Ohio city to turn on its Haitian community, Dec. 12, 2023

Springfield News-Sun, Haitian immigration spats again dominate Springfield City Commission meeting, Aug. 1, 2024

Dayton Daily News, Federal policy that paved way for Springfield's Haitian boom debated, Oct. 2, 2024

The New York Times, How an Ohio Town Landed in the Middle of the Immigration Debate, Sept. 3, 2024

The Washington Post, The right-wing bubble says Trump will save your cat from immigrants, Sept. 9, 2024

The Washington Post, Vance leans into unsubstantiated claims of immigrants eating pets, Sept. 10, 2024

Miami Herald, Trump says he will deport Haitians if he wins. It would not be his first attempt, Oct. 4, 2024

New York Times, How False Claims About Immigrants and Dead Pets Became a Trump Talking Point, Sept. 10, 2024

Dayton Daily News, Are Haitian migrants stealing geese in Springfield parks? Here's what we know, Sept. 13, 2024

NBC, 'It just exploded': Springfield woman claims she never meant to spark false rumors about Haitians, Sept. 13, 2024

Dayton Daily News, Trump vows to do mass deportations in Springfield, repeats false Haitian claims, Sept. 14, 2024

Radley Balko, The Watch, What JD Vance and Donald Trump don't want you to know about Springfield, Sept. 17, 2024

The Wall Street Journal, How the Trump Campaign Ran With Rumors About Pet-Eating Migrants—After Being Told They Weren’t True, Sept. 18, 2024

ABC News, Fact-checking JD Vance's claims about Haitian migrants in Springfield, Ohio, Sept. 19, 2024

PBS, How life in Springfield has been disrupted by lies about its Haitian community, Sept. 17, 2024

Cincinnati Enquirer, How right-wing social media took false claims about Haitians eating pets to the debate, Sept. 18, 2024

CNN, ‘Why Springfield?’ How a small Ohio city became home for thousands of Haitians, Sept. 19, 2024

NPR, How influencers flocked to Springfield chasing debunked rumors and attention, Sept. 20, 2024

AP, What to know about the threats in Springfield, Ohio, after false claims about Haitian immigrants, Sept. 23, 2024

KFF, Springfield, Ohio: How Candidates Amplify Misinformation, Sept. 24, 2024

Factcheck.org, Unfounded Claims Target Springfield Officials, Haitian Immigrants, Oct. 3, 2024

Springfield City Commission, Minutes, Aug. 27, 2024

Springfield City Commission, Meeting, Sept. 10, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine, Governor DeWine Announces $1.3 Million Allocated in Support of Springfield Schools, Sept. 30, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine, Governor, First Lady DeWine Unveil New Mobile Health Clinic to Expand Access to Primary Care in Springfield For All Residents, Sept. 26, 2024

NACLA, Dispatch from a Haitian Journalist in Springfield, Oct. 15, 2024

The Guardian, Haitian immigrants flee Springfield, Ohio, in droves after Trump election win, Nov. 17, 2024

NBC, Uncertainty in Springfield, the Ohio town put on the map by Trump’s false claims about immigrants, Nov. 16, 2024

Springfield News-Sun, What could happen to TPS, humanitarian parole under Trump? Springfield Haitian population watches, Nov. 13, 2024

Springfield City Commission, Meeting, Aug. 27, 2024

Univision town hall, Clip, Oct. 16, 2024

NewsNation, Town hall, Oct. 24, 2024

Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine, press conference, Dec. 5, 2025

Council on Foreign Relations by the Center for Preventative Action, Instability in Haiti, June 27, 2024

UN News, Human toll of senseless conflict ‘is incalculable’, says Türk, Dec. 9, 2024

UN News, Haiti: Earthquake leaves mounting death toll, injuries and extensive damage, Aug. 18, 2021

City Manager Bryan Heck, Letter, July 8, 2024

Reuters, How Haitian immigrants fueled Springfield's growth, Sept. 11, 2024

Factbase Donald Trump, Mentions of Springfield, 2024

Clark County Board of Elections, November 5, 2024 General Election, accessed Dec. 13, 2024

The Washington Post, Ohio voters dismiss false claims about Haitians, but Trump has slight lead, Post poll finds, Oct. 10, 2024

YouGov, Survey: Reactions to Harris-Trump Debate, Sept. 11-12, 2024

Time, Fact-Checking What Donald Trump Said in His 2024 Person of the Year Interview With Time magazine, Dec. 11, 2024

Time, Read the Full Transcript of Donald Trump’s 2024 Person of the Year Interview With TIME, Dec. 12, 2024

NBC News, Meet the Press, Dec. 8, 2024

United Way of Central Ohio, Springfield Unity Fund Established to Strengthen Haitian Families and Community, Sept. 19, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine, Governor DeWine Announces New Traffic Safety Program in Springfield, Provides Updates on Area Health, Education Initiatives, Dec. 5, 2024

The New York Times, An Ohio Businessman Faces Death Threats for Praising His Haitian Workers, Sept. 30, 2024

PBS News, Ohio city with Haitian migrant influx thrust into political spotlight, Sept. 9, 2024

The Columbus Dispatch, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine press conference in Springfield after focus on bomb threats, immigration, Sept. 17, 2024

Roll Call, Interview: Howard Kurtz of Fox News Interviews Donald Trump in New York City, Oct. 20, 2024

CBS News, Full transcript of "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," Sept. 15, 2024

Gov. Mike DeWine, Ohio Governor Mike DeWine is joining Dom Tiberi of the Maria Tiberi Foundation to announce a new driver training initiative in Clark County, Dec. 5, 2024

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, Temporary Protected Status Designated Country: Haiti, Oct. 11, 2024

Roll Call, Press Conference: Donald Trump Hosts a Press Conference Near Los Angeles, Sept. 13, 2024

KFF Health News, Happening in Springfield: New Immigrants Offer Economic Promise, Health System Challenges, Oct. 10, 2024

WSYX-TV, What are the needs, myths about health care for Haitians in Springfield?, Sept. 14, 2024

C-SPAN, Former President Trump Campaigns in Tucson, Arizona, Sept. 12, 2024

The New York Times, I’m the Republican Governor of Ohio. Here Is the Truth About Springfield., Sept. 20, 2024

Hands Together, Becky DeWine School, accessed Dec. 13, 2024

WSYX-TV, Ohio governor reacts to Trump's Springfield claims, Sept. 11, 2024

City of Springfield, Message from City Manager Bryan Heck in response to the recent media coverage regarding our community., Sept. 11, 2024

Canton Police Department, Incident Report, Sept. 16, 2024

Donald Trump, Truth Social post, Sept. 11, 2024

CNN, Kaitlan Collins presses JD Vance on 'cat memes' comment and misinformation, Sept. 11, 2024

The Columbus Dispatch, My son wasn't murdered. Stop using Aiden Clark's death to vomit hate about immigrants., Sept. 11, 2024

Donald Trump, Truth Social post, Sept. 10, 2024

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, X post, Sept. 10, 2024

Snopes, No Evidence Haitian Immigrants Are Eating Ducks, Geese or Pets in Springfield, Ohio, Sept. 9, 2024

The Washington Post, Day by day, how JD Vance tweeted misinformation about Springfield, Sept. 19, 2024

Buckeyegirrl, X post, Sept. 5, 2024

End Wokeness, X post, Sept. 6, 2024

Charlie Kirk, X post, Sept. 8, 2024

r/Columbus, Reddit, July 28, 2024

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, Press release, July 9, 2024

Sen. JD Vance, R-Ohio, X post, Sept. 9, 2024

Trump War Room, X post, Sept. 9, 2024

CNN, Trump campaign and JD Vance promote false rumors about Haitian immigrants eating pets, Sept. 9, 2024

ADL, Blood Tribe, Aug. 28, 2023

Springfield News and Sun, Springfield police say no reports of pets stolen, eaten, after viral social media post, Sept. 9, 2024

U.S. Census, Quick facts for Springfield, Ohio, July 1, 2023

Email interview, Chris Cook, commissioner, Clark County Combined Health District Board, Dec. 2, 2024

Email interview, Rob Baker, Wittenberg University political science professor, Dec. 6, 2024

Email interview, Ernesto Castañeda, director of the Immigration Lab at American University and co-author of "Immigration Realities: Challenging Common Misperceptions," Dec. 6, 2024

Email interview, Austin Kocher, a Syracuse University research assistant professor, Dec. 9, 2024

Interview, Jacob Payen, Haitian Community Alliance spokesperson and shop owner, Dec. 2, 2024

Interview, Ketlie Moise, Keket Bongou owner, Dec. 2, 2024

Interview, Romane Pierre, manager of Rose Goute Creole Restaurant, Dec. 3, 2024

Interview, Marty Tayloe, volunteer at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church, Dec. 3, 2024

Interview, Brianna Beedy, business manager at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church, Dec. 3, 2024

Interview, Margery Koveleski, interpreter, Dec. 3, 2024

Interview, Viles Dorsainvil, director of the Haitian Community Help and Support Center, Dec. 3, 2024

Phone interview, Dick Hatfield, longtime Springfield resident, Nov. 22 2024

Phone interview, Wes Babian, retired pastor at First Baptist Church in Springfield, Nov. 21, 2024

Email interview, Kerry Lee Pedraza, executive director, United Way of Clark, Champaign & Madison Counties, Dec. 3, 2024

Email interview, Natalie Fritz, archivist and outreach Director at the Clark County Historical Society at the Heritage Center, Nov. 21, 2024

Phone interview, Marie Flore Morett, former bilingual assistant Clark County Educational Services Center, Dec. 3, 2024

Phone interview, Susan Javorek, pastoral associate at the Church of the Resurrection in Solon Ohio, Dec. 3, 2024

Statement, Lt. Dennis Garren, Canton Police Department media relations officer, Dec. 9, 2024

Statement, Karen Graves, City of Springfield communications director, Dec. 5, 2024

Email interview, Emily Brown, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law at Ohio State University, Dec. 16, 2024

Email interview, David Leopold, Partner at UB Greensfelder LLP, Dec. 16, 2024

Email interview, Eugenio Mollo, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at University of Toledo, Dec. 16, 2024

Email interview, César Cuauhtémoc García Hernández, Gregory Williams Chair in Civil Rights & Civil Liberties at Ohio State University College of Law, Dec. 16, 2024

NORTON META TAG

18 December 2024

🏆🔥Announcing our 2024 Lie of the Year 17DEZ24

‘They’re eating the pets:’ Trump, Vance earn PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year for claims about Haitians

‘They’re eating the pets:’ Trump, Vance earn PolitiFact’s Lie of the Year for claims about Haitians

Trump repeats false claim about immigrants 'eating' dogs, cats' in Ohio

Vance defends pet-eating claims, says he's willing to 'create stories'

No comments:

Post a Comment

Followers