Photo: Getty Images
Twitter called out CNN on Thursday (March 17) after a clip of a segment comparing Syria and Ukraine made its rounds on the social media platform.
In the clip, political correspondent Julia Ioffe can be heard saying, "It's one thing for sarin gas to be used on people in far away Syria who are Muslim and who are of a different culture but what is Europe going to do when it's used on European soil on Europeans?"
The clip was first posted to TikTok and has since got more than 300,000 views on Twitter a little over two hours after being posted by Huffington Post reporter Rowaida Abdelaziz who later took down the clip after Ioffe said it was taken out of context.
In response to the original clip of Ioffe's statments, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota called on Ioffe for an explanation.
"I can't believe this has to be stated, but suggesting it's ok to use sarin gas on people who are Muslim or Syrian is sick and evil," the Congresswoman wrote in a since-deleted tweet. "Let's hope there is an explanation forthcoming from @juliaioffe because this clip as it stands is horrific and can't be left without condemnation."
Ioffe replied to Omar, and other critics, claiming that her words were taken out of context.
"Hi Rep. Omar, this is an incomplete clip. As you can see, it picks up mid-segment. What I was saying was that the approach of the American and European governments has been informed by this kind of racist and xenophobic logic. I have asked CNN for the full clip." Ioffe responded.
Others found the full transcript of the show and disputed Ioffe's claims that the comments were taken out of context.
As Russia's deadly invasion of Ukraine began late February, several news outlets were called out for the racist coverage of the war. Statements suggesting Europe wasn't "used to" war, or that invasions like Russia's are only seen in certain types of countries.
On top of the coverage, Nigerian, Jamaican and other Black people trying to flee Ukraine reported enduring racism to the point where they were kicked off of buses and trains and told to get to the back of lines at certain borders in order to let "real Ukrainians" leave first.
Get the latest news 24/7 on The Black Information Network. Listen now on the iHeartRadio app or click HERE to tune in live.