YouTube’s high toddler whisperer, Ms. Rachel, must be investigated over whether or not she’s being paid to unfold Hamas-aligned propaganda for her posts concerning the deaths of youngsters in Gaza, a serious antisemitism group tells Legal professional Common Pam Bondi.
Ms. Rachel, actual title Rachel Griffin Accurso, has turn into the fashionable equal of Mister Rogers, educating and entertaining thousands and thousands of younger children together with her “Songs for Littles” streaming exhibits — which have been considered greater than 10 billion instances.
However the Jewish civil rights watchdog group StopAntisemitism mentioned Ms. Rachel will not be so candy.
StopAntisemitism takes concern with a number of posts Ms. Rachel made concerning the situation of kids within the Gaza Strip through the battle, alleging that the content material is both debunked or disputed by Israel.
The group says the posts are anti-Israel and are supposed to encourage pro-Hamas sympathies amongst younger children.
“Given the vast sums of foreign funds that have been directed toward propagandizing our young people on college campuses, we suspect there is a similar dynamic in the online influencer space,” StopAntisemitism director Liora Rez mentioned in a letter despatched Monday to Bondi.
“We urge you and your office to investigate whether or not Ms. Rachel is being remunerated to disseminate Hamas-aligned propaganda to her millions of followers, as this may violate the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA),” Rez mentioned.
Within the letter to Bondi, the group mentioned Ms. Rachel, who as soon as targeted solely on catering to youngsters has been “incorporating Hamas-like propagated images and stories into her content.”
“Her posts have largely ignored the suffering of Israeli victims, hostages, and Jewish children, while she consistently amplifies misinformation from Hamas and other anti-Israel sources,” Rez advised Bondi, within the letter obtained by The Publish.
The posts cited by StopAntisemitism had been made to Ms. Rachel’s Instagram account, the place she has 2.5 million followers, and customarily gears her content material towards adults. Many seem to contain extensively shared photos and tales which were coated closely within the media.
Among the many objectionable content material, in keeping with the group, are viral photos of a kid with protruding limbs depicting hunger within the enclave. StopAntisemitism claimed these photos had been debunked, with the kid not struggling hunger, however as an alternative affected by cystic fibrosis.
Fadi al-Zant, the kid in query, nonetheless, was affected by each cystic fibrosis and hunger, his mom advised the Washington Publish. He turned a extensively shared image for what the UN says was a humanitarian disaster in Gaza earlier than the cease-fire.
StopAntisemitism additionally objected to Ms. Rachel sharing the demise toll supplied by the Hamas-run Ministry of Well being, which doesn’t differentiate between terrorists and civilians.
StopAntisemitism alleges that the estimates that just about 15,000 youngsters have died within the battle was debunked, accusing the kids’s star of spreading misinformation.
Israel disputes the determine, however the UN has reported comparable demise tolls, as nicely.
StopAntisemitism additionally condemned Ms Rachel for echoing reviews of kids dying from hypothermia in Gaza over the winter, claiming she used footage from Wikipedia and that Gaza was nowhere close to as chilly.
Numerous reviews in worldwide media, nonetheless, doc the deaths of many youngsters in Gaza from December by way of February as a result of hypothermia, the place freezing mornings hit refugee tents laborious within the ruined enclave.
StopAntisemitism in the end accused Ms. Rachel of perpetuating Hamas’ claims of Israel bombing Gaza indiscriminately and violating the Geneva Conference by halting support, the latter of which led the Worldwide Felony Court docket to place out an arrest warrant towards Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for crimes towards humanity.
The Israeli navy maintains that it takes all needed precautions to reduce civilian deaths when finishing up airstrikes in Gaza.
Ms Rachel, 42, a instructor who resides within the Higher West Aspect and whose husband is Broadway music director and composer Aron Accurso, declined to remark after The Publish shared StopAntisemitism’s letter to Bondi.
However she beforehand mentioned she loves all youngsters, after coming underneath withering criticism for launching a fundraiser for kids dwelling in war-zones, together with Gaza.
She mentioned tearfully that she had been subjected to bullying.
“I care deeply for all children. Palestinian children, Israeli children, children in the US – Muslim, Jewish, Christian children – all children, in every country. Not one is excluded,” she mentioned in an Instagram submit final Could.
“I think part of why people respond to the show is they feel that care — I see every child as I see my own. I love every neighbor. Any child suffering is in my heart. To do a fundraiser for children who are currently starving – who have no food or water – who are being killed — is human.”
She additionally sang a track for kids in Israel and Gaza.
“This is a prayer for children in Gaza,” she sings, “This is a prayer for children in Israel. This is a prayer for all the children: please stop hurting them. This is a prayer for all the civilians. This is a prayer for all the hostages. This is a prayer for all the innocent. Please stop hurting them.”
The Publish requested StopAntisemitism if it had any proof to point that Ms. Rachel was being paid to unfold Hamas propaganda, and never simply expressing her free speech rights.
“It’s not a secret influencers such as Ms. Rachel often have paid collaborations on social media. That being said, we could not help but notice post 10/7, Ms. Rachel posting a massive barrage of anti-Israel propaganda. This was at the same time as other social media influencers were being paid to post,” Rez mentioned.
“We are merely asking the Attorney General to investigate. While Ms. Rachel is entitled to her opinions and to exercise her free speech rights, there are laws that require those being paid by foreign countries to disclose these things. Foreign agents must register.”
