Political Battle Erupts Over Fake Facebook Page

Fake signRepublican presidential candidates are currently engaged in a war of words over, of all things, a fake Facebook page.

The fraudulent page falsely claimed that South Carolina Rep. Trey Gowdy switched his endorsement from Marco Rubio to Ted Cruz. Gowdy released a statement through the Rubio presidential campaign vehemently denying this, and demanding that Cruz “repudiate these dishonest and underhanded tactics.”

“The truth actually matters to me and to all South Carolinians,” Gowdy said in a statement. “Unfortunately it appears that the campaign of Sen. Ted Cruz may not place the same value on waging a contest based on the truth and facts.”

To be fair, there’s no evidence that Cruz’s campaign is responsible for the fake page, and Cruz himself denied any involvement.

“Our campaign had absolutely nothing to do with this fraudulent Facebook post,” Cruz said. “This kind of deception is deplorable and nothing like it would be tolerated by this campaign.”

Cruz’s campaign has been persistently dogged with rumors of dirty tricks, but it’s unlikely that the true origins of the since-deleted fake page will be found out. However, it’s a good reminder not to believe everything you read on Facebook—even if it’s alleged to come from a prominent public figure.