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Ellie likes data@ellim992 · Sep 14, 2024

Far-right movements have been using Springfield, Ohio as a propaganda tool since early 2023. There aren’t 20,000…

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Summary

Far-right groups have fabricated claims of 20,000-70,000 Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, when Census data shows only 5,264 Haitian-born people in the entire state as of July 2023. Multiple official sources—school enrollment records, vital statistics, and death records—show no evidence of the massive population surge being claimed, revealing this as a coordinated misinformation campaign.

Summarized by ThreadOut AI from the full thread. May miss nuance — read the thread below.

  1. #1

    Far-right movements have been using Springfield, Ohio as a propaganda tool since early 2023. There aren’t 20,000 Haitian immigrants there in fact, there are barely 5,000 in the entire state. The level of cognitive dissonance required for this narrative is staggering. /🧵

  2. #2

    The Census Bureau ACS lists the Haitian-born population in Ohio as 5,264 as of July 7, 2023. This is the most recent and reliable data. These groups have been claiming that there are 20,000 to 70,000 Haitians in just Springfield since May 2023. data.census.gov/table/ACSDT1Y2… 2/

  3. #3

    The Springfield City School District posts their enrollment online. This week, their head count is 7,415. Huge increase from last year, right? Except not... The district is still below pre-pandemic levels. They had 7,716 students in 2020. education.ohio.gov/Topics/Data/Fr… 3/

  4. #4

    Annual head count for Springfield City School District on those files - 2024: 7,415 2023: 7,227 2022: 7,107 2021: 7,099 2020: 7,716 2019: 7,551 2018: 7,661 2017: 7,759 Take a look at the data tables yourself. 4/

  5. #5

    Again, the ACS lists the July 2023 population of people born in Haiti living in Ohio as 5,264. Vital statistics show 599 births in 2023 to mothers born in Haiti 472 in 2024. Birth trends aren’t linear, but even assuming linear increase, that’s a max of ~700 births. 5/

  6. #6

    For deaths, CDC Wonder won't let you search by country of origin, but search by race categories: Through August 2024, there's been 29 deaths among Black Hispanic Ohiohans. 2023: 62 2022: 45 2021: 59 Fact check if you want to, it's public data. wonder.cdc.gov/natality-expan… 6/

  7. #7

    You cannot tell me that a population of immigrants has grown 4x it's size in a year, and their death rate has not increased? (especially a population that is supposedly sucking up health resources?) 7/

  8. #8

    These 15,000-25,000 Hatian immigrants beyond what the Census lists? They're not dying, they're not having extra babies, they're not in the schools? Where are they? The Haitian population ~doubled in recent years. 1,934 Haitian Immigrants lived in the entire state in 2021. 8/

  9. #9

    In 2022, ACS listed 5,442 people born in Haiti in Ohio. In 2023, ACS listed 5,264 people. This is fake. And bad journalism. Especailly since they've been making up this number for a year now - and we have the data for the ACTUAL population when this rumor started. 9/

  10. #10

    The media is moving quickly on this and not fact checking. The initial report of "20,000-30,000" is linked to a Heritage-affiliated anti-immigration think-tank that writes a lot about brown immigrants. (Somehow Ukraine is fine?) 10/

  11. #11

    Bottom line: Folks are choosing to believe and spread any of these lies 🐈🐕🦆 because it fits their racist narrative. Inventing a massive population surge of immigrants is just to serve this. It isn't about facts for them, it's about targeting communities of color. 11/

  12. #12

    Hey @lilialuciano @AliciaHastey - this thread will be worth your time ☝️

  13. #13

    @Reuters should really show us where they got this graph: Because the state medicaid dashboard shows another story about enrollment. 12/

    Ellie likes data@ellim992 · Sep 14, 2024

    Clark County, Ohio Medicaid Enrolled Population Totals from August 2023 to August 2024, from the state Medicaid enrollment dashboard. Black population Medicaid enrolled totals in Clark County, Ohio, August 2023 to August 2024: 1/ medicaid.ohio.gov/stakeholders-a…

  14. #14

    "Well, the Reuters graph could still be true if people are dying or moving at the same rate as Haitian immigrants are moving in?" "Maybe 4000 people died or moved out and 4000 Haitian immigrants moved in?" Nope. Here's all resident deaths for Clark County, Ohio 13/

  15. #15

    Hey @JuddLegum @ItsDocumented @RonFilipkowski I think a FOIA request is in order for what the Clark County, Ohio government said to the press - and who. What I initially believed just a rumor that accidentally got picked up as offical, looks a lot worse with graphs.

  16. #16

    @atrupar you might be interested in this! ☝️

  17. #17

    @JuddLegum @ItsDocumented @RonFilipkowski (little apology: sorry Judd and Ron I didn't mean to attach you to this thread.... just tag you. I guess you'll see it. 😬)

  18. #18

    @DaveYostOH Ohio AG Dave Yost ignores stats provided by Springfield and Clark County officials. There’s NO basis for "1/4 to 1/3" of Springfield being new immigrants — no data backs this. He is simply inciting violence against his own constituents.

  19. #19

    Folks, the numbers from the City of Springfield are clear: 12,000 - 15,000 total immigrants in the entire county. That's not Haitian immigrants, that's not just the immigrants in Springfield. Media keeps linking to this while claiming 12-15k. Can you see how this happened?

  20. #20

    Clark County, Ohio has 136,000 people. The city estimates 9-11% of the county is foreign-born. 14.3% of the U.S. population is foreign-born, and 52% are naturalized citizens. Clark County, Ohio foreign-born population is lower than the national average. springfieldohio.gov/immigration-fa…