Why did the internet suddenly become convinced Haiti is filled with cannibal gangs?
Haiti's Prime Minister Ariel Henry announced he would be resigning after rival gangs in the country united against him. Now, the internet is swimming in misinformation about those gang members being cannibals.
The rumors were spurred on by a video showing a Haitian man allegedly eating the body parts of another person.
The video has since been taken down from X, where it went viral.
Many tweets said the man-eating another human was Jimmy Chérizier, a Haitian gang leader who is known as "Barbecue." Chérizier took responsibility for the increased violence among the Haitian gangs, and is suspected to be vying for political power in Haiti.
But, as reported by Times Now, the video is not of Chérizier. It is from two years ago and "has nothing to do with the current uprising in the Caribbean nation."
"Here is disturbing footage of the Haitian cannibal gang eating body parts of one of their victims as he cooks in the fire," Dom Lucre tweeted on March 10. Lucre uses his large X and Instagram platforms to spread QAnon and QAnon-adjacent conspiracy theories. "The Haiti Cannibal Gang leader is named ‘Barbecue’ and is now the most powerful man in Haiti after their Prime Minster Ariel Henry fled."
Other tweets posted last weekend from right-wing and right-wing adjacent accounts allege cannibalism in Haiti, too.
"Haiti has descended into cannibal gangs chasing people around and taking over police stations," Ivan Bayoukhi, who runs the X account @WallStreetSilver tweeted on March 9. "Their Prime Minister has fled the country."
Bayoukhi also tweeted a video of Associated Press (AP) footage showing Haitians running in the streets of the country's capital, Port-Au-Prince. The Daily Dot was not able to independently verify when the video was taken. Recent AP videos of Haiti show city residents barricading themselves from gang violence and protesting Prime Minister Henry.
Phillip Buchanan, who amassed fame on the right under the social media alias Catturd, also tweeted about how "Cannibal gangs are running around Haiti eating people."
"And the media says you’re supposed to care more about the Oscars," Buchanan tweeted on March 11.
The Haitian cannibal rumor was further bolstered by a 2017 CNN clip circulating that shows documentary host Reza Aslan talking to Aghori Hindu men about eating their own flesh. The clip was shot in India.
Right-wing X account End Wokeness initially tweeted the CNN clip this morning with no mention of Haiti. It's since been reposted as proof that cannibals exist and in connection with Haiti.
The panic over Haitian gangs engaging in cannibalism was furthered by a Tuesday Department of Defense briefing in which the Biden administration said it expected an influx of Haitian migrants in Florida as a result of the country’s violence.
But a new meme nevertheless developed. Many are posting the weapons, supplies, outfit they'd wear, and transportation they'd use to fight "against cannibal groups" in a "search and destroy mission."
"You are being sent to Haiti on a search and destroy mission against cannibal groups," many of the tweets participating in the trend state. "Post firearm, kit, fit and transport."
Journalist Dan Cohen attempted to dispel the misinformation by posting a clip of himself speaking with Chérizier when shooting his 2022 documentary about Chérizier, Another Vision: Inside Haiti's Uprising.
"Why are we seeing a sudden disinformation campaign portraying Jimmy 'Barbecue' Cherizier as a cannibal?" Cohen tweeted on March 11. "Cherizier is trying to turn Haiti into a productive and prosperous country that benefits the whole population.... The man they're smearing as a savage is leading a revolution."
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