A rumor that Minnesota Gov and vice presidential hopeful Tim Walz was banned from college football games because the audience booed him is circulating online. For example, the American NewsMax page posted the claim on Oct. 1, 2024:
(Facebook/American NewsMax)
It read:
BREAKINGS: Tim Walz Barred from College Football Games After Boos Erupt: “We Don’t Want You Here!”
Some readers seemed to interpret the rumor as a factual recounting of real-life events. However, there was no evidence anything of the kind happened. In fact, the pinned comment under the post linked to an article on a different website that artificial intelligence (AI) detectors Quillbot and ZeroGPT indicated had been substantially AI-generated:
In a surprising political misstep, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz faced significant backlash during his recent appearance at the Michigan-Minnesota college football game, resulting in a ban from future events across the Big Ten conference. Walz attended the game at Michigan Stadium, affectionately known as “The Big House,” expecting a warm reception from sports fans. However, his arrival was met with loud boos and jeers from the crowd.
The rumor originated with SpaceXMania — a website that describes its output as being humorous or satirical in nature. Its disclaimer states:
Please note that the article under the category “SATIRE” are satirical in nature and are not meant to be taken seriously. These articles are meant to be humorous and are often entirely made up. We make no claim that the information presented in these articles is true or accurate.
The fictional story spread as Walz debated his opponent, Ohio Sen. JD Vance, a bit more than a month before the presidential election.
SpaceXMania has a history of making up stories for shares and comments, often relying on AI writing software to do its storytelling.
Snopes has addressed similar satirical claims Walz in the past, including the assertion that he had given the middle finger to football crowds and a rumor that his brother had described him as the “neighborhood bully.”
For background, here is why we alert readers to rumors created by sources that call their output humorous or satirical.