No, Vikings didn't denounce Tim Walz. Claim is satire | Fact check

The claim: The Minnesota Vikings denounced Tim Walz

A Sept. 9 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows side-by-side pictures of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and two Minnesota Vikings football players.

"The Minnesota Vikings Have Denounced Tim Walz: 'We Don’t Support His Values,'" reads the post's caption.

The post was shared more than 11,000 times in one day. Similar versions of the claim were shared on Threads.

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Our rating: False

The Vikings said no such thing. The claim originated from a satirical website.

Vikings claim originated as satire

There are no credible reports about the Vikings denouncing Walz, who is the Democratic vice presidential nominee, or saying anything negative about his values. There is nothing on the Viking's website or social media accounts resembling the statement.

The claim originated on a satirical website called The Dunning-Kruger Times, a part of the America's Last Line of Defense satirical network. The website labels itself as satire on its "About Us" page, stating, "Everything on this website is fiction." The website also includes a disclaimer at the bottom of the page that says, "Nothing on this page is real."

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The network shared the claim on Facebook on Sept. 3 and 6, including a link to the satirical article in one of the post's comments. Both Facebook pages that initially shared the post include the disclaimer that "Nothing on this page is real." The Sept. 9 Facebook post includes no such disclaimer.

Christopher Blair, the network's operator, previously told USA TODAY most of his posts about Harris and Walz are designed to "ultimately be positive stories that end up bouncing around the echo chamber."

The viral Facebook post is an example of what could be called "stolen satire," where claims written as satire and presented that way originally are reposted in a way that makes them 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 the Vikings and the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Snopes and Lead Stories also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Dunning-Kruger Times, Sept. 6, The Minnesota Vikings Have Denounced Tim Walz: 'We Don't Support His Values'

• Dunning-Kruger Times, accessed Sept. 9, About Us

• Dunning-Kruger Times, Sept. 3, Facebook post

• Dunning-Kruger Times, Sept. 6, Facebook post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Claim that Vikings denounced Tim Walz is satire | Fact check