No, Tim Walz isn’t the cowboy dancer in this video | Fact check

Andre Byik, USA TODAY
·2 min read
1

The claim: Video shows Tim Walz dancing with dollar bills tucked into belt

An Aug. 19 Facebook video (direct link, archive link) claims to show a man wearing glasses and a cowboy hat dancing with dollar bills tucked into his waistband.

"Recently found Video of Tampon Tim," reads text in the video, which is a repost of a TikTok video and references a derogatory nickname for Walz.

The post was shared more than 2,300 times in a week.

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Our rating: Altered

The video has been digitally manipulated, an expert said. The face of the dancer was changed to resemble Walz. A spokesperson for the governor also said Walz is not the person in the video.

Footage of real dancer has circulated on social media platforms

Hany Farid, a professor who specializes in digital forensics at the University of California, Berkeley, said the Facebook video has been manipulated to make the dancer look like Walz, the Democratic nominee for vice president.

"This is clearly a face-swap deepfake in which the original face in the video was replaced with Gov. Walz’s face," Farid said in an email. "There are clear visual artifacts throughout the video, particularly when the hand moves in front of the face."

Claire Lancaster, a spokesperson in the governor's office, also said the person in the video is not Walz.

Fact check: No, Anthony Oliver did not send Tim Walz cease and desist order over song

Multiple videos of the real dancer wearing the same clothing in the Facebook video have been posted on YouTube and other social media platforms. The man in the videos is not wearing glasses and is not Walz.

"Tampon Tim" is a reference to the nickname some Republican critics have given Walz, who approved a law in 2023 requiring public schools to provide sanitary products to "all menstruating students" in grades 4-12, Minnesota Public Radio reported.

The Facebook user who shared the altered video did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Logically Facts also debunked the claim.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Video altered to make dancer look like Tim Walz | Fact check

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