Rumors about Beyoncé’s surprise appearance at the DNC prove false
The hype surrounding Beyoncé mainly started when a White House official tweeted a bee emoji in the afternoon.
The claim: Oliver Anthony filed a cease and desist order against Tim Walz for using his song
A Facebook post from August 14 (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of country singer and songwriter Oliver Anthony.
“Oliver Anthony files cease and desist letter against Tim Walz: ‘Stop using my song,’” the post reads.
The post was shared 4,000 times in nine days.
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Our rating: False
The claim comes from a satirical website. There is no credible evidence that Anthony sent a cease and desist order to Minnesota Governor Tim Walz.
Anthony’s song about economic struggles, politicians, was not used by Walz
In 2023, Anthony released the song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” in which he describes the economic difficulties in rural America and blames politicians in Washington, DC.
Conservative politicians blasted Anthony’s song, which even appeared in a question at a 2023 Republican presidential debate. But in a YouTube video on August 25, 2023, the singer clarified that he actually wrote this song “about these people.”
However, there are no credible news reports that Anthony Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate, has issued a cease-and-desist order for the use of the song. The post provides no evidence to support this claim.
The claim was first shared by America’s Last Line of Defense, a satirical network of social media accounts and websites, which posted it on Facebook on August 11.
It’s an example of “stolen satire,” where stories originally written and presented as satire are screenshotted and reposted in a way that makes them appear to be legitimate news, misleading readers of the second-generation post, as was the case here.
Fact check: Fact Checking at the DNC, Day 3: See What Tim Walz and Bill Clinton Did Right and Wrong
Since joining Harris’ campaign, Walz has used songs such as Bruce Springsteen’s “Born to Run,” John Mellencamp’s “Small Town” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in a Free World.” There is no evidence he used “Rich Men North of Richmond” or any other Anthony song. The Harris campaign did not respond to a request for comment.
USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.
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