In the latest episode of the sitcom-fever-dream that is modern America, we've reached another layer of mainstream media insanity: Downplaying cannibalism.
Yes, really.
"Elon Musk and conservative influencers have spread unverified claims to millions, smearing Haitian migrants as cannibals as they endure deep uncertainty about the future of their country and family members still there," NBC News wrote.
Oh no!
But if you do the unimaginable and dare to read the article, titled, "Elon Musk and right-wing influencers use ‘cannibal' claims to smear Haitian migrants amid crisis," you might notice something.
Here's the first paragraph:
As Haiti faces an extreme political and societal crisis amid a wave of intense violence, tech billionaire Elon Musk and right-wing pundits online are weaponizing unverified claims of cannibalism coming out of the conflict to advance a political agenda on immigration.
Here's the fourth paragraph:
The accusations of widespread cannibalism are based on what experts said was a likely intimidation tactic from select gang members: In some videos, the most prominent examples being at least two years old, alleged members of violent gangs in Haiti appear to bite into human flesh. Experts said these videos are likely part of propaganda campaigns designed to scare rivals and terrorize local Haitians rather than a reflection of common or normalized behavior. One former armed group went by the name "Cannibal Army."
OK ... so to recap:
Immediately after NBC News (and their "experts") called accounts of cannibalism "unverified," they discussed accounts of cannibalism in Haiti.
Here's the problem. This goes far beyond this one instance. This is a symptom of the rot within our modern media.
The world of fact-checking under the full control of partisan entities like NBC News has allowed the binary framing of reality (true or false) to get the LGBTQ+ABCDEFG treatment. Now, nothing is true or false anymore. Instead, we have partly true, partly false, misleading, missing context. And with a healthy dose of context (or a lack thereof), you can make true and false share the same room.
Whenever the media comes across a story that is inconvenient in its irrefutability, what do they do? They insert context which — to the lazy or the ignorant — acts as a proxy for contrary evidence.
In this example, Elon Musk said there was cannibalism in Haiti...which is true. So because they can't avoid that fact, they'll try and explain it away with context, like the fact that while people are eating other people, it's only "select gang members" and only as part of a "propaganda campaign."
Oh, well, that's OK then!
So don't worry, Elon. If you were thinking of cancelling your Easter vacation to Haiti, there's no need to fear. Just avoid select gang members and you'll be fine.
Maybe.
Follow Ian on X (@ighaworth) and Substack.
