FACT CHECK: Post Claims To Show Tim Walz With Racist Statue In Kitchen

A post shared on X claims to show Minnesota Democratic Gov. Tim Walz with a racist statute in his kitchen.

What’s this racist statue Tim Walz has in his kitchen? pic.twitter.com/PSYvza2Lxh

— Paul A. Szypula 🇺🇸 (@Bubblebathgirl) December 22, 2024

Verdict: False

The image has been digitally altered to include the racist statue. The original image does not have the statue.

Fact Check:

Social media users are claiming that an image shows that Walz has a statue of a black man eating a watermelon in his kitchen. One user wrote, “What’s this racist statue Tim Walz has in his kitchen?”

This claim is false. The original image was shared by Walz on his verified X account, which shows him making caramel popcorn. There is no statue in the original image. (RELATED: Video Of Biden Speaking About Drones Is AI-Generated)

Homemade caramel popcorn. pic.twitter.com/KJfwPfvW7K

— Governor Tim Walz (@GovTimWalz) December 21, 2024

The racist watermelon statute was digitally added by someone, though its origin remains unknown. Unflattering images depicting black people eating watermelon have been a racist trope since the 1870s, according to Wikipedia.

Walz was made fun of on social media for his caramel popcorn tweet, according to Outkick.