Video purporting to show Haitian gang member engaging in ‘cannibalism’ predates 2024 unrest [GRAPHIC]

The video dates back to at least 2021

Mar 20, 2024

Warning: This report contains references of a graphic nature.

CLAIM

A graphic video purports to show a Haitian gang member engaging in cannibalism during the recent and ongoing political unrest in the Caribbean nation.

BACKGROUND

On March 12, a video shared on Facebook purported to show a gang member engaging in cannibalism during the recent and ongoing political unrest in Haiti.

The 11-second video was posted with the caption: “Here’s gruesome footage of a Haitian cannibal gang eating body parts of one of its victims while cooking in the fire. The leader of the Haitian cannibal gang is called “Barbecue” and is now the most powerful man in Haiti, after the escape of Prime Minister Ariel Henry. Their boss Jimmy Cherizier says “Barbecue”.

Another user who shared the video wrote: “It’s not beef jerkey… Yes what you’ve been hearing about Haiti is true..I’ll only show a little bit to stay in the FB “RULES”..wouldn’t want any truth getting spread.. Biden’s open border will bring the cannibals here soon enough.. #Haiti #Haitians #cannibal #cannibals #cannibalism #barbecue.”

Another Facebook user who shared the video added: “RT cannibalism going on in Haiti right now, and I got the video.”

Unverified claims of cannibalism in Haiti during the ongoing unrest have been amplified by right-wing commentators, such as Ian Miles Cheong, who posted on X: “Cannibal gangs in Haiti who abduct and eat people.”

X owner Elon Musk has also posted on several occasions regarding the claims of cannibalism in Haiti.

The CEO of Tesla and SpaceX shared a video of far-right commentator Matt Walsh speaking about “cannibal hordes”.

Musk later replied to an article about his comments on catabolism by NBC, posting: “If wanting to screen immigrants for potential homicidal tendencies and cannibalism makes me “right-wing”, then I would gladly accept such a label! Failure to do so would put innocent Americans in mortal risk. Shame on NBC. Shame, shame, shame.”

METHOD

A reverse image search brought us to a longer version of the video dating back to November 3, 2021. In the video, the same individual is seen removing what appears to be flesh from a burning corpse before eating it in front of the camera.

Documentary filmmakers Dan Cohen and Kim Ives, who have produced documentaries about Haiti, claimed in separate posts on X that the footage was from “years ago of a gang member in the Artibonite Valley eating a burned victim’s body in order to terrorize the population.”

The Eurovision Social Newswire cannot independently verify the claim.

From this analysis, we can conclude that the video is old and predates the current unrest in Haiti.

RATING

The video dates back to at least 2021 and is not connected to the current unrest in the country.

SOURCES

Facebook.com. (2024). Sirad Knky – 😱😱😱 Voici des images horribles d’un gang cannibale… [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?story_fbid=pfbid06DceMfs9VdkmXQbxT1YkizMt4mJ9TgJjcDno4SMcb7xTjAjxXpVWonA5ftrCxeFHl&id=100093324954420 [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

Facebook.com. (2024). RT cannibalism going on in Haiti right now… – Anthony Billingsley. [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/056FAMILYENT/posts/pfbid0ccV5b8oBEaRunWUeXiEZy8h22DMxNSPM4Y6vhC9Ho9maZhU2TKLkdFkGrXkfEXqRl [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

Facebook.com. (2024). It’s not beef jerkey… [online] Available at: https://www.facebook.com/chuck34984/videos/424153866855555 [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

YouTube (2024). Another Vision: Inside Haiti’s Uprising. YouTube. Available at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLIZsIsrPzocnRmfws3v41-UBWTHSu_agt [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Elon Musk [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Kim Ives [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].

X (formerly Twitter). (2024). Available at: Dan Cohen [Accessed 20 Mar. 2024].