Fact check: Tim Walz targeted by misinformation online

Tim Walz, a 60-year-old veteran and former geography teacher, has recently gained national prominence after being chosen as the vice-presidential running mate by Vice President Kamala Harris in the 2024 Democratic presidential campaign. Prior to this, Walz was not widely known outside the state of Minnesota, where he serves as governor.

Walz has been a critic of former President Donald Trump, particularly regarding national security, healthcare and social justice issues. However, his ascent to the national stage has also made him a target of misinformation, much of it perpetuated by Trump and his supporters.

DW has investigated a few of these claims:

Claim: Tim Walz lied about his military service in Afghanistan.  

DW fact check: False

A viral post on social media platform X, which has been viewed a million times, accused Walz of lying about his military service in Afghanistan. The post quoted him as saying, "I deployed in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. My battalion provided security in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan."

It then claimed, "Walz in fact didn't serve in Afghanistan."

While it is true that Walz did not serve in Afghanistan, the post misquoted him, removing crucial context from his statement. The video attached to the post shows Walz in an older interview, where he actually said, "My battalion provided base security throughout the European theater from Turkey to England in the early stages of the war in Afghanistan." It seems the statement was deliberately altered to mislead viewers.

This is not the first time a controversy has arisen about Walz's military background. 

In a 2018 campaign video, Walz himself claimed to have handled assault weapons "in war." This was false, as Walz did not participate in combat operations. The Harris campaign later accepted the mistake and clarified that Walz had "misspoken" in this video.

Claim: Walz ordered tampons be put in boys' bathrooms in Minnesota schools.

DW fact check: False

This claim was made by former President Donald Trump, who alleged, "He [Walz] ordered tampons to be put into boys' bathrooms. Do we have any children here? Please close your ears. He ordered tampons in boys' bathrooms, OK?"

As governor of Minnesota, Walz did sign a bill last year mandating that schools provide free menstrual products. It requires schools to offer these products to students at no extra charge, stating, "The products must be available to all menstruating students in restrooms regularly used by students in grades 4 to 12 ... ."

However, the bill does not specify that these products should be placed in boys' bathrooms. Media reports in the US have clarified that the bill aims to ensure access to menstrual products for all menstruating students, including transgender boys and nonbinary students who may use boys' restrooms.

Brendan Nyhan, a political scientist and professor of Government at Dartmouth College, notes that while misinformation has always been part of every election, it has become more central since Trump entered national politics.

"You can argue that polarization has increased the incentive to promote misinformation. We can't show that systematically overall, but we certainly can say that the volume of misinformation coming from Trump is unprecedented," Nyhan told DW.

Claim: Walz said he would invest in a ladder factory to help migrants cross the border.  

DW fact check: Misleading

A 14-second video clip of Walz posted by the official X account of Trump's campaign suggests that Walz advocated for aiding migrants in illegally crossing the US border. In the clip, Walz is heard saying, "If he [Donald Trump] talks about this wall, I always say, let me know how high it is. If it's 25 feet, then I'll invest in the 30-foot ladder factory. That's not how you stop this."

The post by the Trump team, commented, "Tim Walz wants to invest in a 'ladder factory' to help illegals scale the border wall."

This is yet another instance of a statement being taken out of context. Key portions of Walz's comments were omitted, leading to a distorted interpretation. In his full interview with CNN, Walz argued that building a wall is an ineffective solution to controlling irregular migration.

Walz continued to say, "You stop this using electronics. You stop it using more border control agents. And you stop it by having a legal system that allows for that tradition of allowing folks to come here, just like my relatives did, to come here, be able to work and establish the American dream."

Claim: Walz was arrested in 1995 for drunk driving.  

DW fact check: True

A series of social media posts claim that Walz was arrested for drunk and reckless driving on a Saturday night in 1995. He was reportedly driving nearly 100 miles per hour (roughly 160 kilometers per hour) in a 55 mph (roughly 90 km/h) zone. It is true, and according to police and court records, Walz admitted to the offense. He was fined $200 (nowadays approximately €180) plus had to pay the court fees. His driver's license was suspended for 90 days. At the time, Walz was working as a teacher.

However, when Walz first ran for Congress in 2006, his campaign provided misleading information about the incident. A CNN investigation revealed that his campaign denied Walz was drunk that night and claimed he was never arrested. His press team consistently insisted that the driving under the influence of alcohol charge had been dropped because it was unfounded.

Walz later acknowledged the facts of the case in 2018, recognizing it as a life-changing event that prompted him to quit drinking.

Walz's rapid rise to the national stage caught many by surprise, leading to heightened scrutiny of his past. Experts suggest that this attention has fueled public curiosity about his background.

"He has been the subject of more attention than a lot of vice-presidential picks, and that may have increased interest among both the media and the public in learning more about his background," said political scientist Nyhan.

Rayna Breuer contributed to this article.

Edited by: Uta Steinwehr