Did Ted Cruz Call Obama the N-Word?

Claim:   Senator Ted Cruz was overheard calling President Obama the N-word at a fundraiser.

FALSE

Example: [Collected via e-mail, June 2015]

Origins:   On 1 June 2015, an audio recording purporting to have captured Senator Ted Cruz referring to President Obama with the racial slur commonly known as the 'N-word' (and removed from its original context as part of a fake news article) began circulating online:

The description accompanying the video claimed that the recording was made by a Stately Harold reporter at a fundraiser in San Antonio, Texas. While this description led many people to believe that the audio recording was real, the Stately Harold's disclaimer clearly states that site is satire and does not publish real news stories:

The Stately Harold article that included this clip contained several other hard-to-believe claims which hinted at the story's satirical slant, such as referencing an organization, VLLWOOE ("Vocal Loud Liberals with Opinions on Everything") that does not exist. The Stately Harold is also prominently featured on our list of Fake News Sites to Avoid Sharing.

Last updated:   4 June 2015