The racist disinformation flooding Haiti (and what the media can do about it)

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Several racist conspiracy theories and disinformation narratives are emerging from Haiti as the country plunges deeper into a perilous humanitarian crisis. Ignited by violence between local and paramilitary gangs after years of increasing poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and corruption of elected officials, nearly 5.5 million people are facing detrimental conditions. 

The turmoil has resulted from decades of political upheaval and failed efforts by international forces to stabilize the Black island nation. With nongovernmental organization (NGO) profiteering coupled with two immense natural disasters and sprawling gang wars, frustrations with the Western-supported government have disrupted societal norms and left the national police force on the brink of collapse, with Prime Minister Ariel Henry, agreeing to resign. 

The intensifying violence and disorder are fertile ground for racialized disinformation and conspiratorial narratives. The tactics, motivations, and outcomes of influence campaigns rely on power and information vacuums to take root. These are especially effective in breaking news events, where shock value and “if it bleeds, it leads” precede empathy.  

The dehumanization of the Haitian people and their culture is not new, despite being the only nation in the African diaspora that has the distinct history of successfully revolting against African slavery and claiming its independence in the 19th century. The targeting of marginalized people and communities of color takes form in the weaponization of racial bias, fear, and hate, as Haiti has experienced: 

1. Two viral videos purport to show cannibalism on the streets of Haiti. One video, viewed at least half a million times, is from a 2018 Halloween party at a Chinese theme park. The second video’s quality is low, making it difficult to determine its authenticity. Experts regard these videos as probable intimidation tactics between rival gangs, including one former group: the Cannibal Army. Far-right influencers such as Tesla and X owner Elon Musk, a proponent of racist beliefs, amplified these anti-Black claims of widespread cannibalism despite Musk’s X removing them for violating its terms. 
2. According to data from March 9–16 via Google Trends, rising searches for Haiti revolved around the cannibalism narrative. On March 10, a popular white nationalist account bashed President Joe Biden’s humanitarian parole program, claiming it allows the “killers, gangs, and cannibals” to immigrate without visas. In reality, up to 30,000 vetted asylum-seekers enter the U.S. per month from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, as well as Haiti, through the program. Facts have stopped the white nationalist “Great Replacement Theory” from supplanting the reality of a Black population in desperate need of asylum into a dangerous “invasion.”
3. In 2017, after Trump’s comments about Haiti being a “s*ithole country” and its people having AIDS, leftwing celebrities touted shirts saying, “Haiti is Great Already.” The images resurfaced on platforms like TruthSocial, criticizing Democrats and linking the current Haitian struggle to liberals’ unwillingness to see Haiti and her people as Trump framed them in 2017: “a s*ithole country.” This criticism was bolstered by media claims from 2016 that the Clinton Foundation aggravated Haiti’s financial distress, allegedly funneling money from natural disaster fundraisers to enrich friends, private contractors, and other foreign entities. 
4. Additional footage from international media outlets and independent journalists has shown the most prominent leader in the Haitian gang violence narrative, Jimmy Barbeque Cherizier, wearing a pendant with the Freemasons’ square and compass symbol. Users on the subreddits r/conspiracy and r/freemasonry tied loose threads to CIA and FBI plots to supposedly usurp the country and exploit its resources under the guise of organized gang violence. Historical context reveals a connection between Haiti’s transnational identity and European freemasonry and Vooduo practices, showcasing religious overlap and influence in Haiti’s early formation. Comments on r/conspiracy_commons quickly swell into anti-Black talking points, a demonizing conflation from religious influencers such as Pat Robertson, underscoring the importance of research and community knowledge on Haiti’s confluence of spiritual articles, beliefs, and practices of the island.

As is often the case, power, and money are at the center of these anti-Black disinformation narratives. Black people in resistance and revolution, such as the anti-police brutality protests across the U.S. in the summer of 2020, are met with violence on the ground and vilification in online spaces. 

While the scale of violence in Haiti is more treacherous, Biden’s decision to send U.S. Marines to the island contributes to problems caused by neo-colonialism, noted Jemima Pierre, an associate anthropology professor at UCLA. “Haiti has been and continues to be the main laboratory for U.S. imperial machinations in the region and throughout the world,” wrote Pierre in 2023. She corrects the dominant racist narratives of Haiti being incapable, attributing the demise of Haiti’s government and societal structure to the U.S. and other foreign entities. 

The military response was exploited by Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, who deployed 250 law enforcement officers and an air-and-sea fleet to south Florida to address the coming “invasion” of Haitians (which has yet to materialize).

Debunking disinfo and media literacy are critical to fortifying the information ecosystem, but more can and should be done in the realm of journalism. The media is responsible for challenging power and uplifting the humanitarian cause beyond covering the violence and chaos, as witnessed by the genocides in Sudan and Gaza. The power dynamics in a racialized conflict such as Haiti must be considered because the authoritative sources could have a history of corruption, profiteering, or exploitation. How are people being supported and assisted? What role should the U.S. play, and why wasn’t the military deployed in conjunction with aid packages? 

Newsrooms, and philanthropy more broadly, must invest in diverse perspectives. It sounds obvious, but politicized attacks on diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts across industries, not just in the media, undermine societal progress. 

What looks like inevitable brutality to the outsider is the final corrupt straw for the Haitian, but that perspective is lost if newsrooms give in to pressure. Uplift and collaborate with community and niche newsrooms, like the Haitian Times in New York City, journalists like the Miami Herald’s Jacqueline Charles, a Pulitzer Prize finalist for her coverage of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and writers like Ibi Zoboi, a New York Times best-selling author of “American Street,” the story of a Haitian teenage girl coming of age in Detroit. 

MSNBC Anchor Ali Velshi featured Zoboi on his weekend program on March 16, speaking to the needs of Haitians in and beyond Port-au-Prince. She described the essence of the challenges of the country; the burdens France, the U.S., and other international powers have placed on Haiti since its revolution; and the political corruption to date. Zoboi removed the lens of generalization and zeroed in on the hopes and ideals of the Haitian people.

To counter the wave of rising fascism and racialized disinformation that damages multicultural democracy and pushes a revisionist history, newsrooms mustn’t give in to anti-Black bias or DEI criticism. A diverse and inclusive media environment that promotes marginalized perspectives can create authentic trust with audiences, fortify a healthier information ecosystem, and establish the building blocks of a just society. 
Diara J. Townes is an engagement journalist, a disinformation researcher, and an adjunct at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at the City University of New York.