Washington: The White House said Republicans are spreading dangerous false claims about Haitian immigrants, after US vice presidential candidate J.D. Vance and other top Republicans posted social messages accusing Haitians of eating cats and other pets.

“What’s deeply concerning to us is you’ve got now elected officials in the Republican Party pushing, you know, yet another conspiracy theory that’s just seeking to divide people based on lies and, let’s be honest, based on an element of racism,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said on Tuesday.

“This kind of language, this kind of disinformation, is dangerous because there will be people that believe it, no matter how ludicrous and stupid it is, and they might act on that kind of information and act on it in a way where somebody could get hurt. So it needs to stop.”

The Caribbean island nation of Haiti – founded by former African slaves – is among the poorest countries in the Western hemisphere. Poverty and unrest have helped drive immigration to the US in recent years, including irregular immigration over the US-Mexico border.

Vance, a senator and the running mate of Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, on Monday said on X: “Reports now show that people have had their pets abducted and eaten by people who shouldn’t be in this country,” in a post in which he also said that Haitian immigrants were “causing chaos” in Springfield, a city in his home state of Ohio.

Other Republicans and their backers, including Senator Ted Cruz and billionaire Elon Musk, have posted similar accusations and memes in recent days.

Local police have received no such reports and issued a statement addressing the issue.

“In response to recent rumours alleging criminal activity by the immigrant population in our city, we wish to clarify that there have been no credible reports or specific claims of pets being harmed, injured or abused by individuals within the immigrant community,” Springfield Police said.