The History of the Ted Cruz-Zodiac Killer meme

[TexasTowelie]

“Ted Cruz is the Zodiac Killer” is the greatest political meme of the 2016 election cycle — perhaps of all time. Throughout 2016 the internet was abuzz with tongue-in-cheek speculation that Cruz was the notorious serial killer who terrorized Northern California in the 1960s and 70s. But where did this meme come from and why did it become so popular?

The internet was making connections between Cruz and the Zodiac Killer long before 2016. The first known social media post about Cruz possibly being the Zodiac killer dates back to 2013, when Cruz spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference and vowed to repeal the Affordable Care Act.

Link to tweet

The second reference came a year later shortly after Cruz expressed opposition to net neutrality, calling it “Obamacare for the Internet.”

Link to tweet

For a while, the Ted Cruz-Zodiac Killer meme lived in obscure circles on the internet. But in 2016, during Cruz’s unsuccessful presidential campaign, it went viral.

Read more: https://texassignal.com/the-history-of-the-ted-cruz-zodiac-killer-meme/