Article in Media Matters by Olivia Little, 12/5/24

Headline:  “Right-wing media launched a migrant witch hunt in rural Indiana”

Subhead:  “Hate groups, a local politician, and the Heritage Foundation tried to take advantage of the misinformation-fueled panic”

“Months after the Trump campaign’s flagrant lies about Haitian immigrants in Springfield, Ohio, went viral, right-wing media continue to fuel fear of Haitian migration. In Indiana, a small city was the focus of a misinformation-fueled migrant witch hunt led by right-wing media that emboldened hate groups and is now being used as a case study to justify anti-immigrant policies.

“Logansport is a rural city with a population of about 18,000 residents. In mid-September, Kayla Blakeslee, a right-wing talk radio host based out of Fort Wayne, Indiana, posted on Facebook screenshots of emails that claimed “20,000 plus Haitian immigrants” were “dropped off” in Logansport over the last six months. Blakeslee wrote, ‘Is Logansport, IN the new Springfield, OH???’ ”

https://www.mediamatters.org/immigration/right-wing-media-launched-migrant-witch-hunt-rural-indiana