Threads posts
Threads posts
stated on August 22, 2024 in an interview:

Gov. Tim Walz insulted Ann Coulter’s romantic history after she called his son “weird.”

False

When Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz accepted the vice presidential nomination, his 17-year-old son, Gus Walz, began crying from the front row of the crowd while exclaiming, “That’s my dad!”

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter responded to the moment on X, writing “Talk about weird … ” Coulter deleted her post hours after she was criticized for being insensitive. 

Walz did not respond to her X post. But a fake image on social media makes it look as if he did.

Screenshot of fake Tim Walz X response to Ann Coulter,  8/28/24
Figure 1: Screenshot of fake Tim Walz X response to Ann Coulter, 8/28/24

(Screengrab from Threads)

These posts were flagged as part of Meta’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram.)

Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, told People magazine in August that their son has a nonverbal learning disorder, an anxiety disorder and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. 

The purported response by Walz has no time stamp and is not on his official X account. Walz has not deleted any posts since Aug. 22, according to Social Blade, a social media analytics website. 

A search of Google and the Nexis news database showed no credible news outlets reporting that Walz had responded to Coulter.

A Walz spokesperson did not immediately respond when asked whether the post was authentic.  

We rate the claim that Walz insulted Coulter’s romantic history after she called his son “weird” False. 

Our Sources

Threads post (archived), Aug. 22, 2024

Threads post, Aug. 22, 2024

Threads post, Aug. 22, 2024

Threads post, Aug. 22, 2024

PEOPLE, Tim Walz and His Wife, Gwen, Open Up About Son’s Non-Verbal Learning Disorder: ‘His Secret Power’ (Exclusive), Aug. 22, 2024

Web archived Ann Coulter X post, Aug. 22, 2024

X post, Aug. 22, 2024

Tim Walz X account, accessed Aug. 27, 2024

Social Blade, Tim Walz, accessed Aug. 27, 2024