MAGA pushes wildest conspiracy theory yet about Tim Walz ahead of US presidential election

By Abby Amoakuh

Published Oct 15, 2024 at 12:52 PM

Reading time: 2 minutes

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Image courtesy of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz via Instagram

With the help of X (formerly Twitter) and at least one news aggregator, MAGA conspiracy theorist @DocNetyoutube is working on disseminating the unsubstantiated claim that Vice Presidential candidate Tim Walz sexually assaulted a minor while working as a teacher and football coach. Although the claim is absolutely bonkers—like most things springing from the minds of MAGA followers—it has successfully taken off on multiple social media platforms and cast scrutiny onto the Governor of Minnesota.

On Sunday 14 October 2024, X user @DocNetyoutube posted several alleged screenshots of communications between himself and Walz’s anonymous victim. However, due to their questionable authenticity, the account’s posts all got red-flagged.

“Last night, I was given a statement from the victim of Tim Walz to release this morning. I must tell you; the victim has never told me of his intent to bring Tim Walz to court,” the famous blogger explained in a tweet with which he shared the anonymous victim’s statement. He noted that the letter was shared via email.

It outlines the story of a young person who went to a concert with Walz and his wife Gwen while the couple were teachers at the same Nebraska school. It is alleged that Walz groomed and molested the victim between the ages of 14 and 18.

Keen-eyed Washington Post journalist Will Summers immediately took to X to debunk this supposed evidence of wrongdoing as false.

“[T]he release has already been undermined by the appearance of a cursor in a witness’ key emails—suggesting DocNetYoutube wrote it himself,” Summers highlighted.

Upon closer inspection, many netizens started to spot other mistakes within the letter that indicated that it was fabricated to elicit outrage.

Hours later, most posts sharing this alleged bombshell were slapped with a community note, warning users that they were looking at an item of disinformation.

That Tim Walz took a student to a concert is also a well-known fact that was previously covered by The New York Times in August. After an anonymous gay student confided in them, the couple took them to an Indigo Girls concert, a rare queer-friendly event in the area.

The individual in question has already come forward as Todd Almond, a performer from Nebraska.

The MAGA conspiratorial account tried to claim that the media was “trying to get out in front of this story.” Yet, the most recent X posts show that outside of his circles of the internet, this explanation isn’t quite landing.

Of course, baselessly calling Walz a groomer is nothing new. American far-right political activist, conspiracy theorist, and internet personality Laura Loomer has previously spread similar allegations against the Democratic VP candidate: “There’s a reason why he shakes his wife’s hand and panders to the gay community, and it’s not because he’s awkward… It will all come out,” she wrote on X in August.

All that being said, Laura Loomer and DocNetyoutube’s fraction of the internet has been called out for churning racism and homophobia, alongside weaponising child sexual abuse to make false and defamatory statements about members of the opposition. In other words, even most conservatives can’t stand these freaks.