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

(Image credit: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

published 1 November 2019

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.

Subscribe to The Week

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

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/flexiimages/jacafc5zvs1692883516.jpg

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Explore More

Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.