A Misguided Campaign to Deceive Americans: Why Far-Right Influencers are Wrongly Blaming Immigrants for SNAP Benefits.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a vital lifeline for millions of Americans, is set to run out on Saturday. Amidst this crisis, far-right influencers and extremists have taken it upon themselves to spread disinformation about who receives these benefits. Notably, they're claiming that immigrants are the main recipients of food stamps – a narrative that's patently false.
The data simply doesn't support this claim. According to the USDA, the majority of people who receive SNAP benefits are white Americans. In fact, deep-red states like Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana have some of the highest percentages of food stamp recipients.
Tracy Roof, a political scientist at the University of Richmond, explains that these narratives are being circulated to create the illusion that undeserving groups are getting the bulk of SNAP benefits. "The reality is that the overwhelming majority of recipients of SNAP are people born in the US, and many are in families with children or are elderly or disabled," she says.
The USDA has released data showing that almost 90 percent of SNAP recipients are American-born citizens, while only 1.1 percent are refugees, and 3.3 percent are other noncitizens. Meanwhile, far-right influencers like Alex Jones have been spreading claims about the supposed "third world" invading America through immigration.
The fallout from these false claims is already evident. On TikTok, AI-generated videos of Black women ranting about their food stamp payments being cut off have taken hold, despite not depicting real people or incidents. These videos are further perpetuating racist stereotypes and fuelling civil unrest.
Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley has proposed a bill to fund the program, which has garnered support from 10 other Republican senators. Despite this development, Senate Majority Leader John Thune claims that the Democratic bill would be "a cynical attempt to buy political cover for Democrats."
As America faces the loss of these critical benefits, it's essential to expose the far-right influencers spreading false information about who receives SNAP benefits. By debunking these lies and promoting accurate data-driven narratives, we can ensure that vulnerable communities receive the support they need during this difficult time.
The Trump administration has already used the issue of SNAP funding as a partisan tool, targeting Democrats for their votes on funding the program. It's crucial to separate fact from fiction and promote policies that genuinely address food insecurity – not exploit it for ideological gain.
As the clock ticks down to Saturday's expiration of SNAP benefits, we must remain vigilant against these vicious attempts to deceive Americans. By promoting facts over fiction, we can ensure that vulnerable communities receive the support they need to thrive – regardless of their immigration status or background.
The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), a vital lifeline for millions of Americans, is set to run out on Saturday. Amidst this crisis, far-right influencers and extremists have taken it upon themselves to spread disinformation about who receives these benefits. Notably, they're claiming that immigrants are the main recipients of food stamps – a narrative that's patently false.
The data simply doesn't support this claim. According to the USDA, the majority of people who receive SNAP benefits are white Americans. In fact, deep-red states like Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana have some of the highest percentages of food stamp recipients.
Tracy Roof, a political scientist at the University of Richmond, explains that these narratives are being circulated to create the illusion that undeserving groups are getting the bulk of SNAP benefits. "The reality is that the overwhelming majority of recipients of SNAP are people born in the US, and many are in families with children or are elderly or disabled," she says.
The USDA has released data showing that almost 90 percent of SNAP recipients are American-born citizens, while only 1.1 percent are refugees, and 3.3 percent are other noncitizens. Meanwhile, far-right influencers like Alex Jones have been spreading claims about the supposed "third world" invading America through immigration.
The fallout from these false claims is already evident. On TikTok, AI-generated videos of Black women ranting about their food stamp payments being cut off have taken hold, despite not depicting real people or incidents. These videos are further perpetuating racist stereotypes and fuelling civil unrest.
Meanwhile, Senator Josh Hawley has proposed a bill to fund the program, which has garnered support from 10 other Republican senators. Despite this development, Senate Majority Leader John Thune claims that the Democratic bill would be "a cynical attempt to buy political cover for Democrats."
As America faces the loss of these critical benefits, it's essential to expose the far-right influencers spreading false information about who receives SNAP benefits. By debunking these lies and promoting accurate data-driven narratives, we can ensure that vulnerable communities receive the support they need during this difficult time.
The Trump administration has already used the issue of SNAP funding as a partisan tool, targeting Democrats for their votes on funding the program. It's crucial to separate fact from fiction and promote policies that genuinely address food insecurity – not exploit it for ideological gain.
As the clock ticks down to Saturday's expiration of SNAP benefits, we must remain vigilant against these vicious attempts to deceive Americans. By promoting facts over fiction, we can ensure that vulnerable communities receive the support they need to thrive – regardless of their immigration status or background.
. Like, who cares if some far-right influencers are spreading BS about immigrants and SNAP benefits? It's just more drama for the clickbait crowd 
. I mean, have you seen the latest vids on TikTok that are like, totally fake, but people still lap them up? 
It's all just a bunch of noise, imo. We should just focus on getting the program funded instead of getting worked up over who's supposed to be receiving it 
. I'm not saying immigration isn't an issue, but can we please just have a calm and fact-based conversation about it? 
. Far-right influencers are straight up lying about who's getting food stamps and blaming it on immigrants - meanwhile, 90% of recipients are actually American-born citizens! It's not like this is a new tactic for them to use; we've seen the Trump admin exploit this issue before too.
. The Senate Majority Leader thinks Democrats would just pass some bill out of the blue, but that's not how it works - we need fact-checking and transparency here.
. We should be focusing on genuine solutions rather than using these false claims as a partisan tool.
SNAP is a lifesaver for many but some far-right ppl r spreading lies about who gets 'em 
Not refugees or immigrants like they claim 
These vids on TikTok are perpetuating racism and fuelling unrest 
. It's just not true, right? Like, most people who get SNAP benefits are actually American-born citizens, not immigrants 
. And those states with the highest percentages of food stamp recipients are actually deep-red ones like Alabama and Louisiana - it's not some liberal blue state getting all the handouts 
. Instead, they just keep spreading this narrative to create some kind of fake villain and get people riled up 
. It's so manipulative.
. Like, those AI-generated videos on TikTok? Ugh, it's just disgusting 
. We need to be calling out these influencers for spreading misinformation and promoting policies that actually help people in need 
.
. Let's focus on supporting our neighbors who are struggling with food insecurity, regardless of their immigration status or background 
.
. The data unequivocally contradicts these claims, with the majority of recipients being white Americans in deep-red states 
. The real issue here isn't immigration status, but rather addressing food insecurity through evidence-based policies 
. These false claims are already causing real harm, like spreading racist stereotypes and fuelling civil unrest. We can't let our politicians be puppets for these extremists' agendas 
u guys r not aware of this but far right influencers r spreading crazy lies about immigrants getting snap benefits lol like what even is wrong with these ppl 
. Let's focus on finding solutions to food insecurity, not exploiting people for our own agendas 
. Can we please just fact-check these influencers already? 
i mean come on, the data is clear - most people who receive SNAP benefits are actually white americans 
not black or immigrant women. and what's with these AI-generated tiktok vids of ppl ranting about food stamps being cut off? it's just perpetuating hate and racism 
we need to call out these false claims and promote accurate info so that vulnerable communities can get the support they deserve 
. And what about deep-red states? They've got some of the highest percentages of food stamp recipients too 
.
. And the Trump admin's been using this issue as a partisan tool 
. I mean, what's next? Blaming low-income families for being poor? 
. And can we please stop blaming immigrants for receiving a vital lifeline? 
61% of Americans who receive SNAP benefits have a high school diploma or higher 
.
We need to call out these influencers for what they're doing and support policies that actually help people, not just used as a pawn in the game 
AI-generated vids?! That's some next-level fake news 
- his "conspiracy theories" are literally just racist stereotypes with a bad production value.
. The USDA has the numbers, and they don't lie 
. We need to stay vigilant and call out these lies for what they are: just plain old misinformation 
the data is clear, americans are the ones receiving most of the benefits, not immigrants