Bloomberg stealth edits article that falsely stated Tim Walz served in Iraq with National Guard—he served in Italy

Bloomberg made a stealth edit made to an article about Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who was selected as Kamala Harris’ running mate. The edit changed a reference to Walz’s military service location from Iraq to Italy, with no explanation provided in the editor’s note as to why the change was made. 

The article, which describes Walz’s services as a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, stated that Walz served in Iraq as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. However, after more attention was drawn to Walz’s embellished military record, the article was changed to say Italy instead of Iraq.

However, this is not the first time that Joshua Green, the author behind the Bloomberg article, has attempted to portray Walz as a combat veteran. In 2006, an article written by Green for The Atlantic included an interview with Walz and tried to paint him as an Iraqi war veteran. The article said that Walz left his hometown to “serve overseas in Operation Enduring Freedom,” implying he served in the Middle East. Green also wrote that Walz had “just returned from fighting the war on terrorism” despite him never actually seeing combat.

Governor Walz has faced allegations of stolen valor for misleading the public about his service in the military. According to an article by journalist Jordan Schachtel, Walz spent his career in the Armed National Guard preparing to lead people into battle. There, he served his lone deployment to Italy. After learning he would be leading his unit into battle in Iraq, Walz quit the military and decided to run for office.

Because of these actions, Walz has been accused of intentionally resigning to avoid combat. Republican nominee for vice president and military veteran JD Vance commented on the accusations regarding Walz dodging military service and misleading the country. 

"As a Marine who served his country in uniform when the United States Marine Corps, when the United States of America asked me to go to Iraq to serve my country, I did it. I did what they asked me to do, and I did it honorably," Vance said. "When Tim Walz was asked by his country to go to Iraq, you know what he did? He dropped out of the Army and allowed his unit to go without him, a fact that he's been criticized for aggressively by a lot of the people that he served with." 

"I think it's shameful to prepare your unit to go to Iraq, to make a promise that you're going to follow through, and then to drop out right before you actually have to go,” Vance added.