As approximately 42 million Americans face the imminent loss of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits this weekend due to a government shutdown, far-right influencers, extremists, and conspiracy theorists are exploiting the crisis to propagate racist disinformation about program recipients.

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), which administers SNAP, announced on its website that funding will cease as of November 1, citing the ongoing shutdown. While this cutoff threatens catastrophic consequences for vulnerable populations, misinformation has surged, with claims falsely framing immigrants as the primary recipients of SNAP benefits.

Reality of SNAP Recipients

Contrary to these narratives, USDA data reveals that the vast majority of SNAP recipients are white Americans. Specifically, nearly 90% of recipients are American-born citizens, with 1.1% classified as refugees and 3.3% as other noncitizens. The USDA only collects ethnicity data in broad categories (e.g., White, African American, Hispanic), and no official breakdown exists for nationalities like Afghan, Somali, or Iraqi individuals. Deep-red states such as Alabama, Florida, Mississippi, and Louisiana, however, have among the highest SNAP participation rates.

Spread of Fabricated Disinformation

An influential far-right account on X (formerly Twitter), known as “The General,” has amplified this false narrative through a fabricated chart purporting to show non-white immigrants as the largest SNAP demographic. The chart, initially published on a personal finance website in June, has been viewed 6.3 million times and widely shared by figures including right-wing podcaster Matt Walsh, who quoted the post on X and wrote: “We import the third world and force working-class Americans to feed and house them at gunpoint. Civilizational suicide.”

The chart also informed a segment on right-wing news channel Newsmax this week. However, the USDA has confirmed it does not track SNAP recipients by detailed immigrant nationalities beyond broad categories.

AI Chatbot’s Misleading Response

X’s AI-powered chatbot, Grok, initially claimed the chart “accurately reflects USDA data on SNAP recipients by race,” later retracting to acknowledge “absolute numbers show Whites as the largest group.”

Racist AI Videos on TikTok

Additionally, TikTok has become a vehicle for racist disinformation, with multiple accounts posting AI-generated videos depicting Black women ranting about SNAP cuts. One video, featuring a fictional character named “Lakisha,” showed the character screaming, “What the hell you mean you can’t reload my EBT card?” Commenters falsely interpreted the videos as real, with one user writing, “Accurate and sad. They milk the system on our back.”

Following reporting by WIRED, TikTok confirmed it removed these videos for violating community guidelines and stated it is implementing search restrictions to limit the reach of similar content.

Broader Conspiracy Theories

Broader baseless claims have also gained traction. On Steve Bannon’s War Room podcast, conspiracy theorist Alex Jones alleged Democrats are orchestrating the shutdown to incite “civil war” and “race war,” comparing former President Trump to Abraham Lincoln in a narrative of “civilizational suicide.” Fringe pro-Trump message board The Donald also spread unsubstantiated claims that Black people would “loot en masse” following the SNAP cutoff.

Political Context

The Trump administration has blamed Senate Democrats for the SNAP lapse, accusing them of prioritizing “healthcare for illegal aliens and gender mutilation procedures” over nutrition assistance. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) dismissed a Democratic bill to fund SNAP as “cynical political cover,” while Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO) introduced a competing bill supported by 10 Republican colleagues. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) stated Hawley’s proposal would “pass overwhelmingly” if voted on.

Update (10/31/2025)

In response to WIRED’s reporting, TikTok has removed the AI-generated videos and confirmed it is implementing search restrictions to limit the spread of similar content.

SNAP benefits are set to expire on Saturday, leaving millions without critical nutritional support amid ongoing disinformation campaigns.