diff --git a/zerver/lib/widget.py b/zerver/lib/widget.py
index 2eabedf08c..e8abb15649 100644
--- a/zerver/lib/widget.py
+++ b/zerver/lib/widget.py
@@ -8,7 +8,7 @@ from zerver.models import Message, SubMessage
 
 def get_widget_data(content: str) -> Tuple[Optional[str], Optional[str]]:
     valid_widget_types = ["poll", "todo"]
-    tokens = content.split(" ")
+    tokens = re.split(r"\s+|\n+", content)
 
     # tokens[0] will always exist
     if tokens[0].startswith("/"):