Elon Musk spreads 'cannibal' misinformation to smear Haiti during crisis

Elon Musk has been accused of spreading misinformation around the Haiti crisis, responding to unverified claims that cannibalism is taking place in the country.

The capital of Haiti, Port-au-Prince, is currently being pushed to the brink of civil war, with prime minister Ariel Henry saying he was resigning amid mounting international pressure.

Armed gangs have attempted to seize Haiti’s main airport as they continue to attack government sites. The latest violence, which began on 29 February, has seen gang members burn down police stations and raid the country’s two biggest prisons, releasing more than 4,000 inmates

As NBC News reports, right-wing commentators have been sharing unverified claims of cannibalism during the conflict – in a bid to spread political agendas on immigration.

Getty Images

According to the publication, some videos being shared online are at least two years old and claim to show gang members engaging in cannibalism – which NBC News claims does not reflect common or normalised behaviour.

The likes of right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong claimed that there were “cannibal gangs in Haiti who abduct and eat people.”

Controversial conservative commentator Matt Walsh wrote: "NBC publishes an article accusing me, Elon, and other 'conservative influencers' of spreading 'unverified claims' of Haitian cannibalism. They then proceed to verify the claims themselves in the fourth paragraph of the article."

Musk responded to him by writing: I just saw a video of someone in Haiti chewing the (uncooked fwiw) [eggplant emoji] off a dead guy!"

It comes after Musk shared a video taken from the Joe Rogan Experience podcast endorsing Donald Trump over Joe Biden.

Sign up for our free indy100 weekly newsletter

How to join the indy100's free WhatsApp channel

Have your say in our news democracy. Click the upvote icon at the top of the page to help raise this article through the indy100 rankings