Newsweek fact-check explains why 'Ted Cruz's claim that 'Antifa' burnt U.S. cities for a year' is flat-out false

When he appeared on “The View” earlier this week, GOP Sen. Ted Cruz reminded Whoopi Goldberg that left-wingers do, in fact, have a record of getting violent when Republicans win. Just look at Antifa:

Whoopi: "We may not like when R's win, but we don't go and we don't storm…"

Cruz: "Did I miss an entire year of Antifa riots where cities across this country were burning…?"

Whoopi: "I don't know what an Antifa riot is."

Cruz: "The left doesn't engage in violence? Really?" pic.twitter.com/KGQw7S8IHK

— Washington Free Beacon (@FreeBeacon) October 24, 2022

Little did Cruz know at the time (though maybe he should’ve guessed) that Newsweek’s crackerjack fact-checking team would zero in on that comment and set out to expose him as a lying liar who lies:

While many businesses were damaged or destroyed as a result of arson, Cruz’s characterization that “cities” burned for a year is significantly stretching the truth, even if taken figuratively.

The senator’s labeling of the events as Antifa riots is misleading too. Notwithstanding that Antifa is not a formalized group or association, Black Lives Matter was largely recognized as having galvanized protestors across the world following Floyd’s death.

In short, Cruz appears to have grossly mischaracterized both the nature, scope and length of time these protests took. While Cruz may have been referring to protests in Portland which continued for almost a year, it is inaccurate to describe or imply that these happened across the country with each beset by arson.

Cruz has frequently misconstrued Antifa as a “terrorist organization” and described George Floyd protestors as “behaving like bigots.”

Newsweek has contacted Ted Cruz for comment.

Newsweek: Ted Cruz says Antifa burned US cities to the ground throughout 2020 but that's FALSE because Antifa doesn't exist.

Also Newsweek: Antifa staged waves of demonstrations around the 2020 election.

Journalists you guys. I just don't know. pic.twitter.com/Se751VF4d4

— Omri Ceren (@omriceren) October 26, 2022

Annnnnnd scene.

The same idiots at Newsweek lied about my reporting last year—and I forced them to retract their bogus "fact-check."https://t.co/mEKACtPPdX

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 26, 2022

Who fact-checks the fact-checkers? Because they really need to be fact-checked. Hard.

Newsweek claims that Antifa didn't burn down cities in 2020, because not all cities burned down and Antifa doesn't exist.

Remember: fact-checking is a scheme to launder left-wing messaging through a pseudo-scientific process and pressure tech firms to censor conservatives. pic.twitter.com/1L9OQQKhwO

— Christopher F. Rufo ⚔️ (@realchrisrufo) October 26, 2022

That’s a pretty accurate description of what fact-checking has become, yes.

https://twitter.com/greg_price11/status/1585332398648340481

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