David Graham: “Here’s the background, for those not immersed in the conservative internet. For the past few days, allies of Trump have, without offering a shred of evidence, spread reports about Haitian immigrants in the central-Ohio town of Springfield eating pet cats. The town has seen thousands of new arrivals from the stricken Caribbean nation; authorities there say they’ve helped revitalize the local economy. But, as the debate moderator David Muir immediately clarified, the Springfield city manager says there have been no credible reports of pet-eating. Local police have said the same. Trump weakly protested that he’d seen the claims on television, though he of all people should know better than to believe everything on TV.”
“Despite the lack of evidence, conservative influencers have insisted that incidents are widespread, eager or content to spread hatred of dark-skinned immigrants and gin up votes.”
