Garry Pierre-Pierre founded The Haitian Times in 1999.
Credit...Kaiti Sullivan for The New York Times

Threats Against Haitians Land at the Doorstep of The Haitian Times

by · NY Times

During a journalism career that has spanned nearly 40 years, Garry Pierre-Pierre has faced threats, intimidation and open racism by readers of his work.

But the vitriol has reached another level over the past week as The Haitian Times, a publication he founded, has chronicled the unfounded claims that Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio, have been eating their neighbors’ pets.

In recent days, a surge of remarks posted on the outlet’s site containing racial epithets led Mr. Pierre-Pierre to shut down the comment section. The publication’s special projects editor, Macollvie Neel, was “swatted” — police officers were sent to her residence under the false pretense, cooked up by a prankster with her address, that someone had been murdered there for making racist remarks. And a woman interviewed by The Haitian Times received threats after her quotes were published in an article, leading her to request that her name be removed.

“I’ve covered crazy stuff,” Mr. Pierre-Pierre said. “I’ve never experienced anything like that.”

False claims about Haitians in Springfield have ricocheted across social media over the past two weeks — illustrated by memes depicting conservative figures alongside cats and dogs — particularly after former President Donald J. Trump referenced the falsehoods during the presidential debate last week.

While the claims have been debunked over and over, they continue to be repeated by many conservatives, including JD Vance, Mr. Trump’s running mate.

The claims have been closely covered by The Haitian Times, a digital publication with about 20 full- and part-time employees in the United States and Haiti to cover developments in the global Haitian community.

The news organization was founded in 1999 by Mr. Pierre-Pierre, a Haitian American journalist who once worked as a reporter for The New York Times. He started the outlet after noticing a paucity of coverage of Haiti in the mainstream media. He soon began tackling stories, including some about police violence against Haitian Americans.

Ms. Neel, who has also received emails with racial slurs in recent weeks, said she thought the harassment and intimidation was aimed at preventing journalists from doing their work.

“The strategy is to get folks so tied up in dealing with personal security and fear that they are distracted from even doing their own jobs,” Ms. Neel said.

Despite the threats, The Haitian Times is continuing to cover the story, Ms. Neel said. The outlet is planning to publish an article telling readers where to direct donations to support the Haitian community in Springfield.

The Haitian Times chronicled the unfounded claims that Haitian residents of Springfield, Ohio, were eating their neighbors’ pets.
Credit...Maddie McGarvey for The New York Times

“We’ve learned in our community coverage and engagement work to let folks tell us what they need when they’re ready to receive it, instead of adding more stress to their day answering our phone calls,” Ms. Neel said.

Out of an abundance of caution, The Haitian Times canceled an online forum in Springfield that was set to be co-moderated by Mr. Pierre-Pierre, fearing that the people participating could be putting themselves at risk. The outlet has been in touch with media advocacy nonprofits — including the Committee to Protect Journalists, the International Women’s Media Foundation and the American Press Institute — to find information and funding for additional digital security measures.

Like many other news organizations, The Haitian Times experienced a steep financial decline in the late 2000s after the financial crisis sapped print advertising budgets, Mr. Pierre-Pierre said. One of the lowest moments of his professional career was in 2012, when he informed members of his staff that they had to close the print edition because of a lack of revenue.

But The Haitian Times has stayed alive as an online publication, generating advertising revenue and pulling in donations from readers and grants from foundation funders. When the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the publication saw an influx of readership and revenue, as New York City’s government purchased advertisements and visitors flocked to the site. In 2021, the outlet generated another surge of readership with its coverage of the assassination of Jovenel Moïse, the president of Haiti.

Journalists at The Haitian Times are more experienced than most at dealing with intimidation. On a call this week, reporters and editors discussed historical parallels to similar tactics employed by the authorities in Haiti, who under previous dictatorial regimes would send enforcers to pay threatening visits to the homes of journalists in order to discourage them from doing their jobs.

“Hopefully, this helps people understand it’s not just memes and jokes and TikToks,” Ms. Neel said. “There are real consequences that endanger peoples’ lives.”

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