How influencers flocked to Springfield chasing debunked rumors and attention

(NPR) -snip- Social media influencers and content creators with right-leaning followings have descended on Springfield since Republican vice presidential candidate JD Vance and former president Donald Trump amplified baseless claims that Haitian immigrants there are eating pets. As they pursue clicks, their sensationalized videos and posts are helping spread the false and racist rumors.

After media and city officials debunked the pet-eating claims, conservative activist Christopher Rufo offered a $5,000 bounty for evidence that Haitian immigrants were eating cats in Springfield. His post on X announcing the bounty got 4.5 million views.

What Rufo came up with a few days later was a single grainy video from 2023 that claimed to show a cat on a grill that was filmed in Dayton, about 30 miles away. Officials in Dayton said the allegations were "irresponsible" and that they had found no evidence to support the claims.

https://www.npr.org/2024/09/20/nx-s1-5112682/springfield-influencers-haitian-immigrants-social-media-trump