Joedy McCrearyUSA TODAY
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The claim: Tim Walz has $138 million net worth, daughter with $82,000 in forgiven student loans
An Aug. 11 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) about the finances of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his daughter mentions two sums of money.
"Hope Walz got 82 thousand in student loan forgiveness; her parents are worth 138 million. Go figure!" the post's text reads.
Similar versions of the post with a satire disclaimer circulated widely on Facebook.
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Our rating: False
The claims are fabrications, according to the publisher of the satirical Facebook account where they originated.
Claims ‘definitely fabricated,’ originated on satirical account
Walz, a former Minnesota congressman first elected governor in 2018, was thrust into the national spotlight Aug. 6 when he was chosen as the running mate for Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris, the incumbent vice president.
But the claims in the post are “definitely fabricated,” said Christopher Blair, who publishes the satirical Facebook account that originated them, in an email to USA TODAY.
Fact check: GOP critics say Tim Walz 'let Minnesota burn' in 2020 protests. Here's what happened
The claim was first posted Aug. 10 by an account that is part of the America’s Last Line of Defense network, which posts satirical content. The ALLOD logo appears in the lower-left corner of the accompanying image in that post along with a satire label.
The account describes itself as posting satire and parody, and its description includes a sentence that states, “Nothing on this page is real.” The post's caption directs readers to the comments, and the satirical account explains in one, "The evidence shows that the story isn’t true, which I can confirm because I just pulled it out of thin air.”
A closer look at the details also reveals both claims to be fabrications.
Public documents contain no indications Walz’s net worth is anywhere close to $138 million. His salary as governor increased to $149,550 on July 1, and the disclosure statement he filed in January with the state of Minnesota shows no evidence of any significant outside income, with nothing listed for outside compensation, business ownership or securities. He owns no stocks, according to an Axios report, and he and his wife reported a total income of less than $300,000 on their 2023 tax return, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Nor is there credible evidence or credible reports to support the claim that Hope Walz – who works at a homeless shelter in Bozeman, Montana, her father said – had more than $80,000 in student loans forgiven.
A figure that large also doesn't line up with any current government programs. President Joe Biden's student debt relief plan was blocked by a federal appeals court – a move the administration is appealing to the Supreme Court.
But the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) Plan would grant forgiveness only to those applicants who originally borrowed $12,000 or less and made payments for at least 10 years. Hope Walz, who graduated from Montana State University in 2023, has not yet been out of school long enough to qualify, and of course that limit is far below the amount claimed in the post.
The post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where content written and presented as satire originally is captured and reposted in a way that makes it appear to be legitimate news. As a result, readers of the second-generation post are misled, as was the case here.
USA TODAY reached out to several Facebook users who shared the image but did not immediately receive any responses.
Snopes also debunked the claim.
Our fact-check sources:
- Christopher Blair, Aug. 14, Email exchange with USA TODAY
- Minnesota Legislature, accessed Aug. 14, Minnesota Governor's Salary, 1983-Present
- Minnesota Campaign Finance Board, accessed Aug. 14, Statement of economic interest for a public official: Tim Walz
- Axios, Aug. 7, Gov. Tim Walz doesn't own a single stock
- The Wall Street Journal (archive), Aug. 12, Tim Walz Isn’t Very Rich. Americans Disagree on Whether That’s a Good Thing.
- Reuters (USA TODAY), July 18, US appeals court blocks all of Biden's SAVE student debt relief plan
- Department of Education, Jan. 11, Biden-Harris Administration to Shorten Path to Debt Cancellation for Some SAVE Borrowers
- Montana State University, June 13, 2023, Montana State University 2023 spring graduates listed by hometown
- Tim Walz, May 13, 2023, X post
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