Fact Check: No, Tim Walz's Daughter Didn't Get $82K in Student Loan Forgiveness

Claim:

U.S. 2024 vice presidential candidate Tim Walz’s daughter, Hope Walz, received $82,000 in student loan forgiveness even though her parents were worth $182 million.

Rating:

Labeled Satire ( About this rating? )

On Aug. 10, 2024, a Facebook page called America - Love It Or Leave It published a post claiming the daughter of U.S. 2024 vice presidential candidate Tim Walz had received $82,000 in student loan forgiveness.

America - Love It Or Leave It (ALIOLI) added this occurred even though her parents were worth $182 million. The caption alongside the post stated, "This is just shameful. It makes you wonder how a thing like this can even happen. It's all explained in the comments."

(Facebook user "America - Love It Or Leave It")

Many comments assumed the post was real, with one Facebook commenter writing , "I had a unique way of managing my college tuition costs. It was called a job."

The same story was shared on X as well as on a local Texan Republicans Facebook group, stating, "Hope Walz received 82,000 in Student Loan Forgiveness yet her Dad Tampon/Stolen Valor Tim has 138 Million in inherited wealth."

https://www.facebook.com/groups/collincountyrepublicanassembly/posts/1043332873811719/

However, this item was not a factual recounting of real-life events. It was posted by ALIOLI, a Facebook account that described its output as being satirical in nature, as follows:

A subsidiary of the America's Last Line of Defense network of trollery. Nothing on this page is real.

The image also had a "Satire" label on the bottom left.

ALIOLI also labeled its Facebook page as "Satire/parody," and it said the account was run by an individual named "Busta Troll."

America's Last Line of Defense (ALLOD), which was mentioned by the ALIOLI account, likewise described its content as satirical.

Hope Walz , who is 23 years old and graduated from Montana State University, is a social worker. We found no publicly available evidence that she received student loan forgiveness of that amount. Based on Walz's 2023 tax returns, as reported by The Wall Street Journal, he and his wife had a total annual income of $299,000. Walz also doesn't own any real estate at present, having sold his home in 2019. He and his wife live in a rental paid for by the state, while the governor's mansion is renovated.

We have covered stories from ALIOLI before, including a false claim that Beyonce played her first country concert to a near empty stadium in June 2024.

For background, here is why we sometimes write about satire/humor.

Sources:

Hardinges, Nick. "Beyoncé Played First Country Concert to Near-Empty Stadium?" Snopes, 6 June 2024, https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/beyonce-knowles-country-concert/. " target="blank">https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/beyonce-knowles-country-concert/.">https://www.snopes.com//fact-check/beyonce-knowles-country-concert/. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

Ibrahim, Noor. "Tim Walz's 23-Year-Old Daughter Is Making Him a Gen Z Hit." The Daily Beast, 7 Aug. 2024. www.thedailybeast.com, https://www.thedailybeast.com/tim-walzs-23-year-old-daughter-hope-is-making-him-a-gen-z-hit. " target="blank">https://www.thedailybeast.com/tim-walzs-23-year-old-daughter-hope-is-making-him-a-gen-z-hit.">https://www.thedailybeast.com/tim-walzs-23-year-old-daughter-hope-is-making-him-a-gen-z-hit. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.

Pinsker, Joe, and Veronica Dagher . "Tim Walz Isn't Very Rich. Americans Disagree on Whether That's a Good Thing." The Wall Street Journal, 12 Aug. 2024, https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/tim-walz-net-worth-164e5da6. " target="blank">https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/tim-walz-net-worth-164e5da6.">https://www.wsj.com/personal-finance/tim-walz-net-worth-164e5da6. Accessed 13 Aug. 2024.