No, Anthony Oliver did not send Tim Walz cease and desist order over song | Fact check

The claim: Oliver Anthony filed a cease and desist order against Tim Walz for using his song

An Aug. 14 Facebook post (direct link, archive link) shows a picture of country singer and songwriter Oliver Anthony.

“Oliver Anthony Files Cease and Desist 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 originated on a satirical website. There is no credible evidence that Anthony sent Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz a cease and desist order.

Anthony's song of economic struggles, politicians, has not been used by Walz

In 2023, Anthony came out with the song “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which details economic hardship in rural America and blames politicians in Washington, D.C. for causing it.

Conservative politicians flocked to Anthony’s song, which was even featured in a question at a 2023 Republican presidential debate. But in an Aug. 25, 2023, YouTube video, the singer clarified that he actually "wrote that song about those people."

But there are no credible news reports about Anthony issuing a cease and desist order to Walz, Vice President Kamala Harris' running mate, for using the song. The post provides no evidence to support the 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 Aug. 11.

It’s an example of “stolen satire,” where stories written as satire and presented that way originally are captured via screenshot and 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.

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In the time since joining Harris’s campaign, Walz has used songs like “Born to Run” by Bruce Springsteen, “Small Town” by John Mellencamp and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in a Free World.” There’s no evidence he has used “Rich Men North of Richmond” or any of Anthony’s songs. The Harris campaign did not return a request for comment.

USA TODAY reached out to the user who shared the post for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Our fact-check sources:

• America's Last Line of Defense, accessed Aug. 21, Facebook page

• America's Last Line of Defense, Aug. 11, Facebook post

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: No, Oliver Anthony didn't send Walz cease and desist order | Fact check