Conspiracy Theories Are Dangerous

The idea that migrants are eating pets is funny until it isn’t

I have been one of the many people laughing at former President Donald Trump’s assertion that Haitians are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio. It is ridiculous after all. The problem is that despite the fact that the woman who started the rumor that caused all this nonsense regrets it, people believe it. People I know who I once thought were sane, are pushing the conspiracy theory.

This is having real-world impacts on Springfield, Ohio. On Thursday and Friday of this week, bomb threats caused the city to close schools, and evacuate city hall and other government buildings. According to NBC:

In addition to those school evacuations, several city commissioners and a municipal employee were the target of an emailed bomb threat, city spokesperson Karen Graves said.

A second email threatened multiple locations that included Springfield City Hall, Cliff Park High School, Perrin Woods Elementary School, Roosevelt Middle School, the Bureau of Motor Vehicles and the Ohio License Bureau Southside, Graves added.

“As a precaution, all affected buildings have been evacuated. Authorities, with the support of explosive detection canines, have conducted thorough inspections and cleared the facilities…