Investigation: Are there really rising cases of cannibalism in Haiti or is it fake news?

Since early March, rumour, based mostly on three videos, that cannibalism is common in Haiti have been spreading online. However, two of these videos are not from Haiti – they are from China (left) and Nigeria (center). Moreover, they don’t really show cannibalism (though we did decide to blur the video on the left as it was pretty graphic.) The video shown at the right was filmed in Haiti but back in 2021 – so it has nothing to do with the current situation in the country. © FRANCE 24 Observers

Rumours that cannibalism is common in Haiti circulated in March on social media. FRANCE 24's Observers team looked into these reports and found that several of the videos upon which these rumours seem to be based actually have nothing to do with Haiti – even though several real instances of cannibalism appear to have taken place in Haiti between 2019 and 2024. However, this gruesome practice remains extremely rare. But this hasn’t stopped conservative social media accounts based in the United States and the Dominican Republic from widely spreading this rumour. Elon Musk shared one of the most widely shared posts, which garnered around 17 million views.  

WARNING: Some people may find certain descriptions or screengrabs in this article upsetting.