FACT CHECK: Did Tim Walz Mislead People About His Dog Scout’s Identity?
A viral post shared on X claims that 2024 Democratic vice presidential nominee and Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz purportedly misled people about his dog Scout’s identity.
What the hell? 😩😂 pic.twitter.com/Gzq1F8vcoI
— The Feminist Misogynist (@igarglewithfire) August 26, 2024
Verdict: False
Multiple pieces of media shared on Walz’s verified Instagram account indicate Scout is a black dog. A photo of Walz posing with a brown and white dog that was originally posted on X has been cross-posted on Instagram and Walz can be seen spending time with Scout and other dogs at a dog park.
Fact Check:
Walz will join his 2024 Democratic running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris, for a sit-down interview with CNN at 9:00 p.m. on August 29, according to The New York Times. The interview will be the pair’s first since becoming the Democratic ticket, the outlet reported.
The X post, viewed over two million times as of writing, claims Walz purportedly misled people about his dog Scout’s identity. The post includes two photos of Walz, one of him posing with a black dog and another of him posing with a brown and white dog. “What the hell?” the post’s caption reads.
The claim is false. Check Your Fact traced both photos to Walz’s verified X account, @Tim_Walz. While the first photo is still available for users to view via Walz’s account, the second has since been deleted. However, the image appears as a thumbnail on a video Walz shared on his verified Instagram account in October 2022.
In the video, Walz can be seen spending time with his dog Scout and other dogs at a dog park. Walz jokingly asks Scout if he is jealous of the other dogs at the dog park, including the brown and white dog that appears in the now-deleted X post.
View this post on Instagram
Likewise, multiple pieces of media shared on Walz’s verified Instagram account indicate Scout is a black dog. More recently, Walz shared a video of him and Scout at a dog park to announce he’d joined TikTok. The video was cross-posted on the platform.
In addition, Check Your Fact found no credible news reports to suggest Walz purposely misled people about his dog Scout’s identity. Actually, the opposite is true. On August 27, Lead Stories reported the claim was false. (RELATED: Did Oliver Anthony Send A Cease And Desist To Tim Walz?)
Furthermore, Walz does not appear to have responded to the claim on his website or his verified social media accounts.
Claims that Walz misled people on Scout’s identity appear to have been spread online by multiple conservative figures, including Turning Point USA Founder Charlie Kirk, according to NBC News.
Check Your Fact has contacted Walz’s office for comment.
