this post was submitted on 14 Sep 2024
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SPRINGFIELD, Ohio —The woman behind an early Facebook post spreading a harmful and baseless claim about Haitian immigrants eating local pets that helped thrust a small Ohio city into the national spotlight says she had no firsthand knowledge of any such incident and is now filled with regret and fear as a result of the ensuing fallout.

“It just exploded into something I didn’t mean to happen,” Erika Lee, a Springfield resident, told NBC News on Friday.

Lee recently posted on Facebook about a neighbor’s cat that went missing, adding that the neighbor told Lee she thought the cat was the victim of an attack by her Haitian neighbors.

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[–] norimee@lemmy.world 173 points 2 months ago (11 children)

"I just wanted to be hateful and racist in private with my 500 Facebook friends. I didn't want others to know that"

Its the same as with this woman who sparkt the riots in the UK recently, by spreading false information she had from a russian bot.

Actions have consequences. Even Facebook posts.

[–] Crazyslinkz@lemmy.world 32 points 2 months ago

Literally had this talk with my son. "You are responsible for your own actions"

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[–] BestBouclettes@jlai.lu 96 points 2 months ago (3 children)

Oh no, my actions online have real life consequences... Who would have thought?

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 38 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, I agree she is at fault for spreading harmful and fucking racist misinformation online. At the same time though it must be wild to have a president candidate pick it up and run with it. It's a shame it took this kind of experience to make her see the potential harm of her actions.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 24 points 2 months ago (1 children)

"At the same time though it must be wild to have a president candidate pick it up and run with it."

Which is why I worry we may see more of this. Attention-seeking hateful people realizing they can get the ultimate retweets.

[–] Aurenkin@sh.itjust.works 12 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You're right and I really wish you weren't.

[–] ptz@dubvee.org 5 points 2 months ago
[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago

I wonder if anyone listens to me....

okay. lets give this a try.

Trump is an insurrectionist, a rapist, a traitor. He's sold national secrets. He cheats at golf, and cheats on his wife. He's a pedophile. He's a mass murderer (according to christian doctrine,). He's a liar, an oathbreaker.

there's only one solution

[–] Treczoks@lemmy.world 8 points 2 months ago

I wonder if people who suffered damage from her words could drag her in court for that.

[–] vala@lemmy.world 24 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wonder what she "meant to happen" then?

[–] Brickhead92@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)

All she wanted was a simple lynching of some "undesirables" by other people and no repercussions for herself.

Is that too much to ask?

/s

[–] person420@lemmynsfw.com 3 points 1 month ago

They're not hurting the people they need to be hurting.

[–] x00za@lemmy.dbzer0.com 23 points 2 months ago* (last edited 2 months ago) (1 children)
[–] piecat@lemmy.world 6 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] WhoPutDisHere@lemmynsfw.com 7 points 1 month ago (10 children)

Fucking love this comment. If only we could charge people for being ignorant, or willfully dumb, or just racist. Amazing how folks wanna throw their individual right to free speech away instead of holding "news" corporations accountable. One is much easier to do and has actual precedent, the other being a collapse of our democracy.

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[–] matengor@lemmy.ml 22 points 2 months ago (2 children)

To be honest, although it was dumb, it was also unfortunate. There is no way we will get a hold on viral fake news because there will always be that one unlucky or stupid bastard posting something silly.

Don't eat the pets, people!

[–] FuglyDuck@lemmy.world 11 points 2 months ago (1 children)

the guy that started the couch memes:

[–] Gerudo@lemm.ee 9 points 2 months ago

At least couches don't have families.

Or DO THEY!?

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 1 points 2 months ago (2 children)
[–] superkret@feddit.org 9 points 2 months ago (2 children)

And you can even feed them a vegan diet.

[–] ccunning@lemmy.world 19 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I don’t think cows’ digestive systems can handle vegans 🫢

[–] noseatbelt@lemmy.ca 6 points 2 months ago

What is even the point of having four stomachs then?

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 6 points 2 months ago

Don't you start.

[–] Spitzspot@lemmings.world 6 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Jersey cows are adorable and make great pets.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 5 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Apart. I'm guessing, from the massive poos.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Well, everything poos,

and massive is relative.

You should see my poos!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Yeah, but I assume your poos go in a toilet and not on the ground.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You’ve never truly pooped until you pop a squat in your back yard.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I'll take your word for it. I clean up enough dog poo out there as it is. And it's much smaller than cow poo. Generally not as soft too.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Cow poo is good fertilizer though. You’d have a beautiful garden.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

You're really not convincing me to have a pet cow here...

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 2 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I wouldn’t recommend fertilizing your garden with your own poo!!

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

Having no garden, I'm not fertilizing it with anything's poo.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think you would love a garden.

[–] FlyingSquid@lemmy.world 1 points 2 months ago (1 children)

I think I have a black thumb.

[–] ravhall@discuss.online 2 points 2 months ago

… where are you putting your thumb?

[–] kent_eh@lemmy.ca 21 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Either she's an idiot who doesn't understand why it's important to think before you speak, or she's a racist who is trying to weasel out of a shitstorm of her own making.

[–] Brickhead92@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago

Well it's not fair that she should have to suffer consequences for her own actions.

/s

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