Cruz retweets hoax storm photo in aftermath of Hilary

Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) retweeted a hoax storm photo Monday in the aftermath of storm Hilary, before quickly clarifying he was later told it was a joke.

A hoax photo purportedly showing a shark swimming down a highway circulated across social media over the weekend when Hilary, now a post-tropical cyclone, hit Southern California with significant rainfall.

Cruz retweeted a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, which included the hoax photo accompanied by the text, “Friend of mine out in LA just took this picture on the 405.” In his retweet Cruz said, “Holy crap.”

Minutes later, the senator wrote in a follow-up post, “I’m told this a joke. In LA, you never know…And everyone please stay safe from the storm or otherwise.”

According to Snopes, a fact-checking site, the photo initially circulated on social media after Hurricane Irene slammed Puerto Rico in 2011. The image of the shark was apparently pasted into a photo of the flooded streets in Puerto Rico. Since then, the photo has recirculated, often after a major rainfall event.

This is not the first time Cruz has run into problems with a fake photo or video on social media. Shortly after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, Cruz reposted a video that appeared to show the Taliban hanging a man from a helicopter in Afghanistan, which was later debunked by Reuters and The Associated Press. He later deleted the tweet.

Last year, Cruz reportedly tweeted a photo of a fake article from The Atlantic magazine before quickly deleting the post.

Los Angeles, along with other parts of Southern California, experienced heavy flooding Sunday night and Monday in addition to mudslides and power outages. The National Weather Service of Los Angeles said Monday “virtually all” of the city’s daily rainfall records have been broken.

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