Ted Cruz is sad very few people retweeted his plug for Facebook's political ad policy, blames Twitter

One of the joys and terrors of social media is the potential validation (or rejection) you may feel from the reaction to every opinion you post online. When your hot take gets a cool reception, you could reconsider your opinion. Or, as Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) demonstrates, you could blame the social media company.

Twitter announced Wednesday that it will no longer accept paid political advertising on its platform. There was a distinct partisan split over Twitter's decision, with Democrats endorsing the views of Twitter's Jack Dorsey and Republicans cheering the laissez faire attitude toward political advertising adopted by Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg. Maybe it's because conservatives argue — and a conservative Supreme Court majority had endorsed — that spending money is a form of constitutionally protected speech, while liberals are pushing to reduce the influence of money in politics.

Whatever the case, Cruz's position doesn't appear to be very popular. That, or Twitter is out to get him.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Join more than 350,000 subscribers and keep yourself informed with a selection of The Week’s most interesting, enlightening and entertaining stories - plus daily puzzles.

Sign up