FACT CHECK: Did Ted Cruz Host A ‘Netflix And Chill’ Contest?

An image shared on Facebook claims Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz hosted a “Netflix and Chill” contest during the 2016 presidential campaign.

Verdict: False

There is no evidence that Cruz hosted such a contest. A spokesperson for Cruz said the advertisement is a hoax.

Fact Check: 

Cruz ran for the Republican Party’s presidential nomination in 2016, ending his campaign in May 2016, according to NBC News. Recently, social media users have been sharing an image allegedly showing Cruz’s 2016 campaign website advertising a “Netflix and Chill” contest with the senator. “Netflix and chill” is a euphemism for casual sex, according to The Guardian.

However, there is no evidence that Cruz ever advertised any such contest. Check Your Fact searched Cruz’s tweets and Facebook posts from 2015 and 2016 but found nothing about the alleged “Netflix and Chill” contest. The website design in the Facebook image also does not match archived screenshots of Cruz’s campaign website from 2015 and 2016.

If the advertisement and contest were real, it would have garnered news coverage, yet the only Check Your Fact only found articles debunking it. Media outlets reported on Cruz’s presidential campaign hosting a “Shoot with Cruz” contest in June 2015 and launching a “Star Wars contest” in December 2015 for people who used his campaign’s app.

Steve Guest, a spokesperson for Cruz, told Check Your Fact the advertisement featured in the Facebook post is “false” and a “hoax.” (RELATED: Did Ted Cruz Tweet, ‘I’ll Believe In Climate Change When Texas Freezes Over’?)

Cruz did have a related mishap in 2017 when his verified senate Twitter account liked a pornographic tweet, according to the Houston Chronicle. The tweet was later unliked and reported to Twitter, the outlet noted.

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