Fact check: Satirical post says Ted Cruz lost his Marriott hotel points after Cancun trip

Adrienne Dunn, USA TODAY
·2 min read
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The claim: Sen. Ted Cruz lost his Marriott Hotel points after traveling to Cancun during Texas storm

Texas Sen. Ted Cruz faced intense backlash following his family trip to Cancun while residents in his state battled a deadly winter storm, which was further intensified by the loss of access to power and water for millions.

Following the barrage of criticism on social media — and calls for resignation from the Texas Democratic Party — the Republican senator quickly returned to Texas while his wife and children stayed in Mexico.

As Cruz navigated the public consequences of taking his trip to Cancun, an article published on Patheos claims he also lost his Marriott hotel points as a punishment for his trip.

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The article, written by Andrew Hall, claimed that hotel company Marriott revoked all of Cruz's award points following his decision to leave Texas while the state's residents suffered during the winter storm.

"Marriott International Inc. announced last night that it has revoked the thousands of Marriott Award Points Texas Senator Ted Cruz accrued over the years," the article reads. "The drastic move by the company that has over 30 brands, 7,484 properties, and over 1.4 million rooms is due to Senator Cruz jetting off to Mexico while millions of Texans are suffering from the effects of the recent winter storm."

Article is satirical

While the article is written convincingly, it is not a factual report of any events. The article is satirical, which Hall writes about in a separate post.

"Under normal circumstances, my humble blog is similar to The Onion. As many of you know, The Onion publishes satirical stories poking fun at everyday problems everyday people face as well as pointing out the hypocrisy of the rich and powerful," he said.

While Cruz certainly faced backlash for his decision, one of the consequences was not the loss of his Marriott points.

Our ruling: Satire

The claim in the post has been rated as SATIRE. The Patheos article is a satirical piece — which the author confirms in another post — and is not a report of factual events.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Fact Check: Story claiming Ted Cruz lost Marriott points is satirical