No, this video doesn’t show Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez crying over Ted Cruz’s remarks

The preview image of a Facebook video that promises congressional waterworks shows two photos side by side. On the left, U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, speaking at a lectern. On the right, U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., crying and wiping her eye with a tissue. 

"Aoc Brought to tears as Ted Cruz Gets up and HUMILIATES her to her face," a Jan. 23 Facebook post sharing the video says. 

This post was flagged as part of Facebook’s efforts to combat false news and misinformation on its News Feed. (Read more about our partnership with Meta, which owns Facebook.)

A reverse image search of the photo of Ocasio-Cortez reveals that she’s not crying over Cruz. Rather, she was moved by the testimony during a 2019 House Oversight Committee hearing of a Guatemalan mother describing border detention facilities. 

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stated on March 21, 2024 in an Instagram post

Video shows legislators “dancing in Congress” while the border is “overrun.”

The photo of Cruz comes from a speech he gave on the Senate floor two years later. It’s unlikely Ocasio-Cortez, a congressional representative, would have been in the chamber at the time. 

Cruz discussed immigration and the U.S.-Mexico border during his speech, and briefly mentioned Ocasio-Cortez. 

"Rep. Ocasio-Cortez has a famous photo of her grasping her head by the kids in cages," Cruz said, referring to images she shared in 2019 that showed her at the border. "Well, I want to give a simple challenge to Rep. Ocasio-Cortez and for every Democrat in this body. Go see the Biden cages." 

We rate claims that this video shows Cruz making Ocasio-Cortez cry False.