--- title: "Elon Musk Thinks Cannibals Are Invading the United States" description: "In his latest racist outburst, billionaire Elon Musk joined other conservative pundits in accusing Haitian migrants of being \"cannibals.\"" date: "2024-03-14" modified: "2024-03-14" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/elon-musk-thinks-cannibals-are-invading-the-united-states" categories: - "Elon Musk" - "Future Society" - "The Industrialists" tags: - "elon musk" - "haiti" - "racism" --- # Elon Musk Thinks Cannibals Are Invading the United States ![In his latest racist outburst, billionaire Elon Musk joined other conservative pundits in accusing Haitian migrants of being "cannibals."]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* In his latest racist outburst, multihyphenate billionaire Elon Musk joined other conservative pundits in accusing Haitian migrants of being "cannibals," arguing that they shouldn't be allowed to move to the US. The news comes after political unrest in the island nation [came to a head this week](). On Monday, Haiti's prime minister Ariel Henry agreed to resign if other Caribbean nations were to form a transitional government on behalf of the country. The statement angered Haitians, triggering mass protests, with tires being burned in the streets. Meanwhile, Musk took to his social media platform X to further unverified and sensationalist claims of cannibalism arising out of the conflict, as [*NBC* reports](). Case in point, today, the mercurial CEO tweeted a link to a [video]() that claimed to show evidence of cannibalism in Haiti in response to the report. The video was promptly taken down by X, [*Axios* reports](), which stated that the video had violated its rules. In other words, even Musk's own social media company isn't willing to support his increasingly racist [anti-immigration posts](). Ever since Musk took over the company formerly known as Twitter, hate speech [has flourished]() on the platform. The billionaire has spread his own share of misinformation as well, from [bogus COVID-19 data]() to [false information]() about the Israel-Gaza conflict. Musk has also made plenty of his own racist remarks on his platform. In January, he [argued]() that Black students at Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) have lower IQs and therefore shouldn't become pilots — ridiculous claims that were [met with horror]() by civil rights groups. Most recently, the billionaire took aim at the people of Haiti, playing into debunked tropes. Over the weekend, Musk [tweeted]() "cannibal gangs..." in response to a clip by right-wing commentator Matt Walsh about unrest in Haiti. "Civilization is fragile," he [wrote]() in response to another [since-deleted video](), which claimed to show footage of a "cannibal gang eating body parts." This week, Musk joined right-wing commentator Ian Miles Cheong, who [argued]() on X earlier this week that there were "cannibal gangs in Haiti who abduct and eat people." "If wanting to screen immigrants for potential homicidal tendencies and cannibalism makes me 'right wing,' then I would gladly accept such a label!" an incensed Musk [wrote]() in a reply to a separate [post]() in which Cheong complained about the *NBC* report. "Failure to do so would put innocent Americans in \[sic\] mortal risk," he added, failing to provide any evidence for his outlandish claims. As experts have since pointed out, the posts were likely the result of gang propaganda campaigns designed to stoke fear, as [*NBC* reports](). While it's still possible that the odd gang leaders are indeed capable of such ghoulish acts, generalizing these claims is not only misleading — a State Department spokesperson told the broadcaster that it had received no credible reports of cannibalism — but even clearly playing into racist tropes that date back to colonial times. There's also the issue of basic human decency. Through no fault of its residents, Haiti is in crisis; instead of wondering how the country he immigrated to could help, Musk is punching down at the most extreme examples of social dysfunction he can find online. "It is very disturbing that Elon Musk would repeat these absurdities that do, indeed, have a long history," Yale University professor of French and African diaspora studies Marlene Daut told *NBC*. In short, it's yet another troubling sign of Musk's descent into extreme right-wing circles, while using his considerable following and social media network to further conspiracy theories and racist disinformation. "A whole population is getting blamed for what some psycho gang members are doing," Washington-based lawyer and moderator of the subreddit r/Haiti, told *NBC*. "It is racist. It is dehumanizing." **More on Musk:** *[Elon Musk Deletes Tweet Saying Ex-Wives Responsible for Collapse of Civilization]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()