Viral misinformation about immigrants in our community is causing violence. Only you can stop it.

We are deeply concerned for the safety of Springfield residents, including the estimated 12,000 to 15,000 Haitian immigrants currently living here legally.

A social media post that originally came from a Springfield Facebook group went viral nationwide in recent days. The post, which was quickly debunked by this news outlet, falsely referenced an incident in Canton, Ohio, in which a woman was charged with animal cruelty for allegedly killing and eating a cat. The woman was not Haitian and had no connection to the Haitian community in Springfield.

We repeat: There is no evidence whatsoever to support the hateful, racist allegations that Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, are harming people's pets.

This week's events come against the backdrop of a tumultuous year in Springfield. Public gatherings have been derailed by hateful rhetoric against Haitian immigrants. Armed neo-Nazi groups have demonstrated in downtown Springfield and appeared at commission meetings.

“We tell our children — I'm a mother of three school-age children — we tell our children not to bully each other, and I hear adults in our community saying the most hateful things, the very things we warn our children about,” Melanie Flax Wilt, president of the Clark County Commission and a resident of the county since birth, said this week. “That's not the community we are. We are Clark County, Ohio. We are Springfield, Ohio, and that's not the community we want to be.”

This news organization asks our readers to push back against the flood of misinformation before it leads to violence. We stand firmly with Springfield residents seeking peaceful and common sense solutions to the challenges facing our community.

Regardless of the circumstances that brought Haitian immigrants to Springfield, and regardless of the many failings of our federal immigration policy, they are here now.

“We may seem like a challenge, but we are an opportunity,” said Johnson Salomon, a Haitian native who now works as a patient advocate at Rocking Horse Community Health Center. “We come with almost nothing, but we are a hard-working people. We are not here to invade or take over; we are fighting hard to survive and contribute to the community. Our children will go to school here and become future teachers, medical professionals and police officers.”

We commend the outstanding work of Springfield's leaders, including Mayor Rob Rue and other elected officials who have recently been in the national spotlight.

“Rumors like this distract from the real problems, like the problems with our housing and school systems and our overwhelmed health care system,” Rue said.

We have diligently reported on issues related to housing, transportation, public safety, education, health care and more. We applaud the support of Governor Mike DeWine and appreciate his office's refusal to encourage the spread of misinformation.

“Look, my job is to state the facts and say what we see,” DeWine said, “and I rely, frankly, on Mayor Rue and other officials and county officials. They're the ones who are on the ground, they're the ones who know what's going on.”

Responsible leadership requires following the facts. It is incredibly irresponsible – and dangerous – for candidates and elected officials to spread unfounded rumors to advance a political agenda.

Haitians have been the victims of hate crimes before. A Springfield man was convicted last year of hate crimes against at least eight Haitian citizens in the city. Investigators said the man traveled around Springfield looking for people he believed were from Haiti. He then attacked them, typically punching them and throwing them to the ground before robbing them of their money, cell phones, a car and other personal items.

Hateful rhetoric against immigrants has led to even worse acts of violence in the past, such as the 2019 tragedy in which a man killed 21 people and injured 22 others in a mass shooting at a Walmart in El Paso. The shooter admitted that he killed and injured people in the store because he suspected people of the same nationality were there.

We cannot stand idly by until such a tragedy occurs in Springfield.

Given the heightened tensions of the past week, we ask our readers to be careful about the information they share with their friends and family. False information may not come from you, but once you encounter it, you can decide whether it should end up with you. Be skeptical of all the media you consume. Question its source – and the motives of those spreading it.

Trust has become increasingly rare in today's media ecosystem. According to a Reuters report, 72% of Americans expressed concerns about what is real and what is fake when it comes to online news. With so much uncertainty and a growing number of scammers, it seems easier to distance yourself from current events and the world around you.

We ask that you do the opposite. Our community needs you now more than ever. There are a number of ways you can make a positive change in Springfield. You can support organizations on the front lines of providing help to the most vulnerable in our community by donating or volunteering. You can choose to be wise in choosing the information you consume and share with others.

To all Springfield residents, new and old: We remain committed to quality local journalism that helps unite our community through factual reporting and identifying solutions for a better future.