Cannibal claims about Haiti crisis used by Musk to smear migrants

As Haiti endures extreme crisis, Elon Musk and right-wing influencers are resurfacing gruesome propaganda videos to advance their immigration agenda.

As Haiti faces an extreme political and societal crisis amid a wave of intense violence, tech billionaire Elon Musk and right-wing pundits online are weaponizing unverified claims of cannibalism coming out of the conflict to advance a political agenda on immigration.

Musk and conservative influencers have spread the message to millions, smearing Haitian migrants as cannibals as they endure deep uncertainty about the future of their country and family members still there. 

The claims are getting tens of millions of views on the social media platform X, where false or misleading information has spread since Musk bought the app and slashed content moderation. Many of the people spreading the sensational claims are premium subscribers on X, meaning their content can make them money through advertising sales. 

The accusations of widespread cannibalism are based on what experts said was a likely intimidation tactic from select gang members: In some videos, the most prominent examples being at least two years old, alleged members of violent gangs in Haiti appear to bite into human flesh. Experts said these videos are likely part of propaganda campaigns designed to scare rivals and terrorize local Haitians rather than a reflection of common or normalized behavior. One former armed group went by the name “Cannibal Army.”

Ian Miles Cheong, a right-wing commentator, helped to kick off the frenzy last week on X, writing that there were “cannibal gangs in Haiti who abduct and eat people.” 

https://www.nbcnews.com/tech/internet/haiti-migrants-cannibal-claims-barbeque-army-2024-rcna142878

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