The rumor that Haitians immigrants have been stealing and eating cats and dogs has been traced to the source as it has been found that 35-year-old Erika Lee posted an anecdote in a local Facebook group. But she could not believe that the story would find a place in Donald Trump’s debate speech. “Honestly, it blew me away,” Lee told NewsGuard. “I didn’t think that any of this would explode to the presidency.”
How did the rumor start?
Lee said she heard it from a neighbor (Kimberley Newton) who heard it from a friend who heard it from their daughter.The rumor was a cat owner found her dead pet hanging from a tree ready to be skinned, butchered and eaten at a house said to be occupied by Haitian immigrants. But both Lee and Kimberly were not sure about the authenticity of the rumor as they don’t know the person who lost the cat.
NewsGuard tracked the rumor originating from an alleged cat owner, then travelling to the cat owner’s acquaintance, then to Kimberley and Erika and from there to Conservative influencer and then to JD Vance and Donald Trump.
So when Lee told the story, it was a fourth-hand fable. On September 5, a screenshot of the post was shared on X and then it went viral. “My neighbor [Newton] informed me that her daughters friend had lost her cat,” Lee wrote in her post without mentioning Newton.
“One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat.”
“I ‘ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at snyder park with the ducks and geese, as I was told that last bit by Rangers & Police,” the post said.
‘Kamala Harris did this’
Even after being called out for spreading this rumor, JD Vance stayed put on his position and posted Friday that Kamala Harris is responsible for whatever happened to Ohio. “In Springfield, Ohio, there has been a massive rise in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime. This is what happens when you drop 20,000 people into a small community. Kamala Harris’s immigration policy aims to do this to every town in our country,” JD posted.
How did the rumor start?
Lee said she heard it from a neighbor (Kimberley Newton) who heard it from a friend who heard it from their daughter.The rumor was a cat owner found her dead pet hanging from a tree ready to be skinned, butchered and eaten at a house said to be occupied by Haitian immigrants. But both Lee and Kimberly were not sure about the authenticity of the rumor as they don’t know the person who lost the cat.
NewsGuard tracked the rumor originating from an alleged cat owner, then travelling to the cat owner’s acquaintance, then to Kimberley and Erika and from there to Conservative influencer and then to JD Vance and Donald Trump.
So when Lee told the story, it was a fourth-hand fable. On September 5, a screenshot of the post was shared on X and then it went viral. “My neighbor [Newton] informed me that her daughters friend had lost her cat,” Lee wrote in her post without mentioning Newton.
“One day she came home from work, as soon as she stepped out of her car, looked towards a neighbors house, where Haitians live, & saw her cat hanging from a branch, like you’d do a deer for butchering, & they were carving it up to eat.”
“I ‘ve been told they are doing this to dogs, they have been doing it at snyder park with the ducks and geese, as I was told that last bit by Rangers & Police,” the post said.
‘Kamala Harris did this’
Even after being called out for spreading this rumor, JD Vance stayed put on his position and posted Friday that Kamala Harris is responsible for whatever happened to Ohio. “In Springfield, Ohio, there has been a massive rise in communicable diseases, rent prices, car insurance rates, and crime. This is what happens when you drop 20,000 people into a small community. Kamala Harris’s immigration policy aims to do this to every town in our country,” JD posted.