ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – With the election just weeks away, a fake video containing false allegations against Gov. Tim Walz is trying to become a surprise in October.

What we know

The video was posted to X (formerly Twitter) last week and has already been viewed millions of times.

The four-minute video originally shows a man claiming to be a former student of Walz’s, named Matthew Metro, who claims Walz sexually assaulted him while he was a teacher and coach at Mankato West High School in the late 1990s. 90.

Although there is a real Matthew Metro who went to Mankato West while Walz was there and one version of the video shows his real high school yearbook photo, the real Metro told the Washington Post that the The man in the video wasn’t him – he’d never done it. Walz as a teacher and the assault alleged in the video never happened.

While

What the experts say

“First because a First Amendment right to lie,” said Hamline University Political Science. Professor David Schultz.

Schultz said in the age of misinformation, voters should be wary of outrageous claims made on social media or traditional attack ads, especially weeks before the presidential election.

“I think part of a citizen’s duty is not just to listen and accept that everything is true, no matter what form you get information in. Ask questions. Check. Maybe you’ll- you to a second source,” Schultz said.

Because Schulz says that if the position affects even a small number of votes in this election, it could make a big difference in the outcome.

“The danger is there, in such a close election, where we are dealing with an incredibly small number of voters who will decide the election in about half a dozen swing states. Could this move just a few voters here and there? Yes, it’s possible,” Schultz said.

The real Metro, who now lives in Hawaii, told the Washington Post that he plans to vote for Kamala Harris and Walz on Election Day.