{"id":35813,"date":"2026-05-07T16:21:12","date_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:21:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/35813\/"},"modified":"2026-05-07T16:21:12","modified_gmt":"2026-05-07T16:21:12","slug":"new-jersey-beaver-attack-video-misrepresented-as-showing-canadian-newcomers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/canada\/35813\/","title":{"rendered":"New Jersey beaver attack video misrepresented as showing Canadian newcomers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Canadian social media users are claiming a video shows a beaver attacking immigrants in the country, inspiring comments about how the newcomers were supposedly rejected by the animal, a national symbol. However, the clip was not recorded in Canada; news reports and the original poster confirm it was taken in the US state of New Jersey.<\/p>\n

“Even the beavers in our country want these immigrants out,” says text over a May 5, 2026 Instagram\u00a0reel<\/a>.<\/p>\n

In the video, four people face off with a beaver at the edge of a body of water in a wooded area. Emojis for the Canadian flag and a beaver are layered over the video, which ends by flashing a cartoon drawing of the animal holding up a flag that reads: “Deport them all.”<\/p>\n

The clip surged across\u00a0Instagram<\/a>,\u00a0X<\/a> and Facebook<\/a>, accompanied by the same claim that it showed a beaver fighting immigrants in Canada. Many of the\u00a0posts<\/a>, which also appeared in French<\/a>, played up the beaver as symbol<\/a> of Canadian identity or called the rodent a “patriot<\/a>.”<\/p>\n

\"<span>Screenshot<\/p>\n

Screenshot of an Instagram post taken May 6, 2026<\/p>\n

\"<span>Screenshot<\/p>\n

Screenshot of a Facebook post taken May 6, 2026<\/p>\n

A previous push by the Canadian government to bring in high levels of immigrant workers, which coincided with rising costs of living, saw the country flip<\/a> its long-held, pro-immigration consensus.<\/p>\n

While the government has\u00a0backtracked<\/a> on the number of newcomers it is allowing into the country,\u00a0false claims<\/a> about immigrants<\/a> to Canada have repeatedly<\/a> spread online.<\/p>\n

The posts claiming the video circulating on social media showed a beaver attacking immigrants in Canada are similarly inaccurate.<\/p>\n

Reverse image searches<\/a> surfaced several<\/a> other posts<\/a> and news articles<\/a> that\u00a0placed<\/a> the clip<\/a> in Mahwah, New Jersey (archived here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a>, here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The earliest version of the video was\u00a0shared<\/a> by Facebook user Michael Noonan, who confirmed to AFP in a May 6 direct message that the clip was filmed at\u00a0Lake Henry<\/a> in Mahwah (archived here<\/a> and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Other<\/a> news reports<\/a> detailed how an eight-year-old boy was attacked May 3 at a Mahwah park by a beaver that later tested positive for rabies (archived here<\/a> and here<\/a>). The Mahwah Health Department released a statement<\/a> May 5 advising anyone who had contact with the animal to seek a medical assessment (archived\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

A local television station<\/a> reported that at least one other beaver attack had occurred within the week in the same area (archived\u00a0here<\/a>).<\/p>\n

Read more of AFP’s reporting on misinformation in Canada here<\/a>.<\/p>\n