A bizarre claim has been circulating among conservatives that vice presidential candidate Tim Walz falsified the identity of his family’s dog.
The conspiracy was quickly debunked – after a Minnesota GOP strategist made the claim while posting two photos of the Minnesota governor with two different dogs. Both were posted to the 60-year-old’s social media sometime in 2022.
The photo on the left shows Walz with Scout, a Labrador Retriever mix his family got in 2018. The caption read, “Sending a special birthday greeting to our favorite pup, Scout.”
The photo on the right was taken just a few months later and shows Walz with another dog. The caption reads, “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it.”
Several also accused Walz of trying to pass off the two dogs as one and the same person, even though the second film only shows a different dog in the park, as Scout remains out of frame.
Conservatives on Monday spread the bizarre claim that vice presidential candidate Tim Walz faked the identity of his family’s dog.
The conspiracy was quickly debunked – after a Minnesota GOP strategist made the claim while posting two photos of the Minnesota governor with two different dogs
“Yes, this is Tim Walz tweeting about his dog Scout. The problem is, they are two completely different dogs,” wrote Dustin Grage, the Minnesota GOP strategist who sparked the controversy.
Within moments, Grage’s tweet was accompanied by a community note that read, “The photo on the right is from a dog park where Tim Walz was with Scout and many other dogs.”
Scout can be seen playing with these dogs, the note says, and commenters were quick to point out that Walz’s photo was merely expressing, rather than showing, that Scout’s dog was also having fun in the park.
The person who wrote the note was among those who made a comment pointing out the obvious by sharing the original video of Walz at the dog park in their post.
She wrote: “It took me exactly 45 seconds to go to @Tim_Walz’s Instagram page and see that this is a video of his dog Scout playing with another dog at the dog park.”
Others quickly accused Grage of stirring up trouble by providing false evidence that appeared to show he had not verified his claims.
Some even went so far as to criticize the Republican’s ability to “think critically,” pointing out that Walz had published several social media posts and press photos with Scout, the black Labrador.
“The dog in the tweet on the right is just a random dog they met at the dog park. He does not identify the dog in the tweet on the right as Scout,” wrote one such viewer, adding, “Oh my God,” to express his despair.
The photo on the left shows Walz with Scout, a Labrador Retriever mix his family got in 2018. The caption read, “Sending a special birthday greeting to our favorite pup, Scout.”
The photo on the right was taken months later and shows Walz with another dog. The caption read, “I couldn’t think of a better way to spend a beautiful fall day than at the dog park. I know Scout enjoyed it.”
Several went further and attacked the GOP strategist who made the false claims. One person shared the original video of Walz at the dog park, which showed Scout out of frame.
Scout, seen here with the Democrat, has been part of Walz’s family since 2019 and frequently appears on his social media
“These idiots’ reasoning skills are so poor that it didn’t occur to them that Walz was taking a photo with ANOTHER dog (pictured right) because they’re at a DOG PARK and mention that Scout enjoyed it,” another added.
“He doesn’t say Scout is in the picture. Idiots.”
Another simply asked Grage, “What’s wrong with you?” while others praised the community notes feature.
“Community notes, for the win. Again,” joked one commenter, as the misinformation was easily debunked.
“These pathetic nutcases are so desperate to find a line of attack to stick on @Tim_Walz that they’re resorting to conspiracy theories about dog parks,” another wrote after the charges were settled.
“It’s really hilarious to see them becoming more and more desperate as each line of attack bounces off his authenticity armor.”
Scout has been part of Walz’s family since 2019, along with his wife Gwen and their two children.
Son Gus, 17, recently made headlines after shedding tears during his father’s speech at the DNC last week.
“That’s my father,” he shouted as he stood and proudly pointed to his father, who was sitting in the front row on the convention stage next to his sister Hope.
