Ilhan Omar, a Democratic Party representative in Congress, caused an uproar and was severely criticized after she retweeted a photo of dead children claiming that they died as a result of the IAF's bombing of Gaza. The New York Post reports that the photo was revealed to be a photo of children who died as a result of the Syrian army's nerve gas bombing.
In the photo that Omar retweeted, the bodies of seven small children are seen dead, next to the headline "CHILD GENOCIDE IN PALESTINE". Below that, the post stated "614 Palestinian children were murdered by the Israeli Air Force". The original false tweet was by a man named Suleiman Ahmed. Following the publication of the photo, many users sent a warning stating that it was a photo taken in 2013 in the city of Juta in Syria, where children were attacked with sarin gas and died as a result, and not a photo from Israel's war with Hamas.
The false tweet that Omar retweeted comes only a few days after her fellow Democrat, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, asked netizens not to post unverified and false information.
"The level of misinformation in all directions at these moments is incredibly high, especially on this platform. If you see a claim, photo or video that evokes a strong emotional response, take a moment to pause and check the veracity or confirmation of the image from multiple sources," Ocasio-Cortez wrote.
The AIPAC organization published its own tweet in response to the senator's false tweet in which he scolded the two members of the Democratic Party. 'You mean it, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Ilhan Omar is spreading dangerous misinformation, accusing Israel of killing children murdered by Assad in Syria 10 years ago. Once again, the Squad members do not let facts get in the way of their anti-Israel narrative."