Texas senator Ted Cruz has been asked to explain himself after his official account “liked” a pornographic tweet. Although liking a Twitter post does not necessarily share it, the tweet became available to view on Cruz’s verified profile, leading to series of awkward screenshots. The Texas senator went on to add “there are a number of people on the team that have access to the account and it appears that someone inadvertently hit the like button”. When asked if Cruz himself had liked the tweet, he said said: “It was a staffing issue, and it was inadvertent, it was a mistake, it was not a deliberate action.” The mishap was particularly awkward due to Cruz’s support of conservative family values and his involvement in a court case in Texas about banning the use of sex toys.- The timing of the incident, on the anniversary of September 11, made the incident even more commented on
- Cruz has been a frequent subject of mockery on social media and repeatedly named in a conspiracy theory that he is the Zodiac killer, which was also referenced in relation to the Twitter like.
- The liking of the pornographic post helped resurface a 2016 tweet from the TV producer Craig Mazin, in which he said he shared a room with Cruz and his beliefs about genital stimulation were rather different to those expressed in the state argument.
I feel that this incident was easily avoidable. Things like this are easily avoidable but will still happen. This is a prime example of the instant effect of accidental content on the internet. Once it is out there - it is irrevocable. As the article mentions, young children follow his account and parents are trusting of that considering the account is run by a verified US Senator. This makes me feel that there should be a lot more effort put into Cruz's social media to avoid ridiculous tweets like these being shared.
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