Does a viral photo show a Haitian immigrant in Springfield, Ohio, holding what appears to be a dead goose? No, that's not true: The man who snapped the picture said it was taken in Columbus, Ohio, not Springfield. A city official in Springfield stated there are "no credible reports or specific claims" in the city's immigrant community about a man walking around with a dead goose. The photographer later said his photo had been "hijacked."
The claim appeared in a post (archived here) on Facebook on September 9, 2024. The post's caption said:
Life in Springfield Ohio has taken a bit of a turn...Might want to keep fluffy inside for a while.
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Wed Sep 11 16:47:39 2024 UTC)
The post on Facebook included a screenshot of a post (archived here) on X on September 8, 2024, that showed a man carrying what appeared to be a dead goose. Its caption said:
🚨Report: Springfield Ohio residents are warning their pets and wildlife like ducks and geese are being eaten by Haitians
One neighbor said she saw her cat being carved up by the Haitians. Another neighbor said a police officer told her this is happening to dogs, ducks and geese
Neither of the two posts provided anything to support their statements that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, were eating dogs, cats, ducks, geese and other wildlife. The posts only mentioned unverified reports of such activities.
City of Springfield
In a September 9, 2024, email to Lead Stories, Karen Graves, a strategic engagement manager for the City of Springfield, denied a variety of claims related to immigrants in the community. The statement said:
In response to recent rumors alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community. Additionally, there have been no verified instances of immigrants engaging in illegal activities such as squatting or littering in front of residents' homes. Furthermore, no reports have been made regarding members of the immigrant community deliberately disrupting traffic.
Similar claims of immigrants purportedly stealing and eating cats in Springfield spread elsewhere on social media, including a September 9, 2024, post on X (archived here) by GOP vice presidential candidate JD Vance, an Ohio senator. Vance said:
Months ago, I raised the issue of Haitian illegal immigrants draining social services and generally causing chaos all over Springfield, Ohio.
Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn't be in this country. Where is our border czar?
The baseless claim about Haitian immigrants was also promoted by former President Donald Trump during a televised presidential debate (archived here) with Vice President Kamala Harris on September 10, 2024. During an answer to a question about immigration, he said:
In Springfield, they're eating the dogs, the people that came in, they're eating the cats. ... 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.
The video of Trump's answer is embedded below:
Springfield News-Sun
A September 9, 2024, article in the Springfield News-Sun (archived here) had this to say about the claims on social media:
The Springfield Police Division said Monday they have received no reports related to pets being stolen and eaten.
A social media post originally from a Springfield Facebook group went viral nationally in recent days. The original poster did not cite first-hand knowledge of an incident. Instead they claimed that their neighbor's daughter's friend had lost her cat and found it hanging from a branch at a Haitian neighbor's home being carved up to be eaten.
The poster also claimed 'Rangers' and police told them that 'they have been doing it' at Snyder Park, too, with ducks and geese.
Springfield Police said they were aware of the social media post but that this was 'not something that's on our radar right now.' The post received tens of thousands of impressions.
Where is the picture from?
The picture of the man with the goose was not taken in Springfield. The man who originally posted it on posted it on Reddit (archived here) on July 28, 2024, said it was taken in Columbus, Ohio, located about 50 miles away. Geolocation data for the photo confirm the image was shot along Cleveland Avenue in Columbus.
On September 9, 2024, more than a month after the picture was originally put online, the poster said (archived here) that the image had been "hijacked by right wing media."
(Source: Reddit screenshot taken on Wed Sep 11 19:00:51 2024 UTC)
Additionally, even if the photo was from Springfield, there's no way to tell from the picture whether the person shown is a U.S. citizen or an immigrant since his identity is unknown.
Newspaper interview
The man behind the photo spoke to The Columbus Dispatch (archived here), the local newspaper, saying he now regrets taking the picture. Speaking anonymously to protect his identity, he said this about the image:
I wish I never took it, for sure. And I hate that the picture that I took is being weaponized to use against immigrants, or really, any other group. They always have to have somebody to use as a weapon. Some group to be the bad guy.
Read more
At the time this was written, Snopes and VERIFY had reviewed similar claims.
Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims about immigrants can be found here.
