Image of newspaper claiming Buttigieg killed dogs as a teen is fabricated | Fact check

Nate Trela, USA TODAY
·3 min read
2

The claim: Article shows Pete Buttigieg was arrested for killing dogs as a teen

A Nov. 25 Instagram post (direct link, archive link) shows a folded newspaper with “South Bend” in the masthead and an article about a teen accused of killing dogs.

“Why won't anyone discuss why a Teenage (Pete) Buttigieg strangled 5 dogs?" the post reads in part. Next to the newspaper image is what appears to be a picture of Buttigieg as a teenager.

The post, comprised of a series of screenshots, was liked more than 100 times in five days.

More from the USA TODAY Fact-Check Team:

Our rating: Altered

The newspaper clipping is fabricated. Buttigieg was never arrested in relation to any dog deaths. A version of this claim has circulated since Buttigieg’s unsuccessful run for president in 2020.

South Bend newspaper says page is fabricated

The South Bend Tribune, now part of the USA TODAY network, was the only daily newspaper operating in the Indiana city on Aug. 30, 1998, the date on the fabricated newspaper. When a version of the claim began circulating in 2020, the Tribune said the newspaper image was not real.

In a February 2020 article, Tribune editor Cory Havens debunked several pieces of misinformation circulating about Buttigieg, who grew up in South Bend and left office as its mayor in January 2020.

When addressing the purported article about dogs being killed, Havens noted that signs the image was fabricated include the masthead using the wrong font and style, the fact that the paper would not have named someone arrested “on suspicion of" doing something (particularly a minor) and the lack of basic information like a dateline, byline or the age and hometown of the person named.

Alan Achkar, who was the executive editor of the Tribune when the claim started circulating in 2020, shared the actual front page for Aug. 30, 1998, in a post on Twitter. The articles include a report on a local man creating a shrine to Princess Diana and another piece on the St. Joseph County Sheriff releasing his nephew from jail, but there were no mentions of Buttigieg or a teenager arrested for killing dogs.

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The fabricated newspaper was debunked in February 2020 by the Associated Press, PolitiFact and FactCheck.org. FactCheck.org found the image was shared by a now-defunct account on Twitter, where a user acknowledged making the purported newspaper image for fun.

USA TODAY could not reach the social media user who shared the claim for comment.

Reuters also debunked the most recent iteration of the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

South Bend Tribune, Feb. 10, 2020, The CIA, abused dogs, the Iowa app and 'Breathe Easy': Buttigieg draws rumors, conspiracies

Alan Achkar Feb. 10, 2020, Post on Twitter

ComradeCrow, Feb. 8, 2020, Archive of post on Twitter

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Article claiming teen Buttigieg killed dogs is fabricated | Fact check