| Friend,
You’ve likely seen posts on social media and heard people on TV — even on the presidential-debate stage — spreading xenophobic conspiracy theories about the Haitian immigrant community of Springfield, Ohio. These entirely baseless accusations1 are designed to shock and terrify you.
In the week since these racist conspiracy theories gained traction,2Springfield’s public buildings have faced repeated bomb threats, leading to school evacuations, hospital lockdowns and targeted violence.3Unchecked lies and unfettered bigotry from the mouth of Ohio’s own junior senator are having real-world consequences, with Haitian families waking up to smashed windows and keeping their children at home for their safety.4
Make no mistake: Hateful online voices are stoking anti-immigrant sentiments for political and economic gain — and social-media platforms are profiting off the proliferation of these dangerous lies. Scapegoating immigrants is a tried-and-true tactic of history’s most violent authoritarian movements.
Sign our petition calling on social-media platforms to stop profiting from racist conspiracy theories and curb their spread through better content moderation.
This anti-immigrant scapegoating is part of a broader scheme: Far-right ideologues are pushing a white nationalist lie5 about the prevalence of “noncitizen voting” to sow distrust in our elections and divide the public. These lies are meant to stir up suspicion about all people of color. That fear is a tool of voter suppression.
And that’s exactly where a healthy media system could and should stop the spread of these racist conspiracy theories: Social-media platforms can reinstate the content-moderation guardrails they stripped away.6
We need swift action: Our communities and our democracy hang in the balance.
The Heritage Foundation — author of Project 2025 — is manufacturing video “evidence” of voter fraud, a move that Georgia’s secretary of state dismissed as a “stunt”.7 Year after year, experts routinely debunk claims of voter fraud, and yet prominent social-media accounts frequently share misleading content like the footage the Heritage Foundation produced. These posts then spread among everyday users who might not recognize them as deceitful. Social-media platforms play a key role in shaping public attitudes and are falling short of the responsibility that comes with that.
Add your name to our petition urging Big Tech companies to take the threat of disinformation seriously in 2024. Thank you for acting with us,
Jessica J. González
Co-CEO
Free Press and Free Press Action
P.S. If you’re not sure what to do when you see content that appears misleading, Free Press has a guide available to help!
1. “'It Just Exploded': Springfield Woman Claims She Never Meant to Spark False Rumors About Haitians,” NBC News, Sept. 13, 2024
2. “J.D. Vance Posts Baseless Claim That Haitian Immigrants Are Eating Pets in Ohio as Officials Say It's Not True,” People, Sept. 9, 2024
3. “‘People Are Afraid’: Haitians in U.S. Face Hate, Threats as Trump and Vance Spread Racist Lies,” Democracy Now!, Sept. 16, 2024
4. “Haitian Families in Ohio Under Attack as Racist Claims Spread,” The Haitian Times, Sept. 11, 2024
5. “What Is ‘Great Replacement Theory’ and How Does it Fuel Racist Violence?” PBS, May 16, 2022
6. Big Tech Backslide: How Social-Media Rollbacks Endanger Democracy Ahead of the 2024 Elections, Free Press, December 2023
7. “Heritage Foundation Spreads Deceptive Videos About Noncitizen Voters,” The New York Times, Sept. 7, 2024  |
