Here's how influencers, monetized accounts and algorithms helped propel false claims about Haitian migrants eating pets in Springfield, Ohio.

But speaking to reporters in front of Springfield, Ohio’s city hall, then later at both a town hall and in an interview with POLITICO, Ramaswamy repeatedly sidestepped questions about Donald Trump’s baseless claims that Haitian migrants were abducting and eating pets and wild animals here.

Donald Trump said he plans to visit two towns that have become flashpoints in the national debate over immigration and the center of unfounded conspiracy theories the former president has promoted about migrants.

What is your message to JD Vance and former President Trump? You support them as the Republican ticket. What is your advice to them about what to do with these allegations, about eating pets in Springfield that they keep repeating?

Earlier that day, Springfield Mayor Rob Rue, a Republican, revealed he would be “fine” if Trump skipped a visit as “it would be an extreme strain on our resources.” Mayor Rue, City Manager Bryan Heck and Ohio’s Republican Governor Mike DeWine have all repeatedly debunked the claim.

Donald Trump told a boisterous rally Wednesday he will visit the US town beset by racial tensions ever since his campaign began promoting false allegations that immigrants there were eating