Republicans have turned Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz’s outing at a dog park nearly three years ago into an attack on the Democratic vice presidential nominee this week, building on an online narrative that attempts to paint Walz as a liar. Political mudslinging of such a trivial nature might not seem particularly harmful, but a deluge of such false and misleading claims could easily add up to real damage at the polls, according to experts. This is especially true when they rely on bogus information to go after a figure such as Walz, who is still relatively unknown on the national stage.