AI-generated images of Donald Trump with kittens and ducks were used by Republican politicians to amplify a debunked, racially charged hoax claiming Haitian immigrants were eating pets in Ohio, leading to real-world threats against the Haitian community and eroding public trust in politics.

The trend gained traction following a viral conspiracy theory claiming that these immigrants were abducting and eating pets in Springfield, Ohio - a claim also made by Donald Trump during the second US Presidential TV debate.

Despite local police debunking these rumours, Republican supporters circulated AI-generated memes to portray Trump as a protector of animals. 

And the House Judiciary Committee of the GOP shared an AI-generated photo of Trump cuddling a kitten and a duck, captioned "Protect our ducks and kittens in Ohio!"

Trump himself posted several AI memes, including one of him surrounded by animals on his private plane. 

Local authorities in Springfield confirmed that there were no credible reports of pets being harmed. Despite this, Trump’s presidential running mate, JD Vance, continued to propagate the false allegation.

The situation provoked reactions from various political figures, including Democrat Eric Swalwell, who criticised the absurdity of the memes during a public appearance and questioned the sanity of the people circulating them.

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• https://www.fox4news.com/news/ai-memes-trump-harris-flood-social-media-during-debate

• https://www.newsweek.com/donald-trump-cats-ducks-ai-images-migrants-eating-pets-springfield-ohio-1951485

• https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13831005/jd-vance-migrants-eating-pets-ohio-trump-ai-say-ducks-kittens.html

• https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-harris-debate-cat-memes-jimmy-kimmel-b2610741.html

• https://futurism.com/republicans-ai-trump-kittens