Ocasio-Cortez, who is in the “Squad,” has characterized the war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas as a “genocide” and called for an immediate ceasefire in the conflict, which began after Hamas attacked Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. In an Instagram story on Thursday, she answered a question from a user and defended her stance on the war from those who said she wasn’t pro-Palestinian enough.

.@AOC addresses leftist criticism of her on Palestine, attributing it to her position as an elected official + disinformation (a protester accused her in a Chicago restaurant of not saying “genocide” when she did so months ago). pic.twitter.com/ZdTkkhg2cU

— bryan metzger (@metzgov) August 29, 2024

“I am an elected official in the U.S. government. That is a fact. No matter how opposed I am to what is happening, criticism will be there. I get that. But you are correct. I have one of the strongest vote records in Congress on Palestinian human rights and voting against bloated U.S. military budgets (both overall and against unconditional aid to the Israeli gov),” Ocasio-Cortez said.

“And in a time when AIPAC has dedicated $100 million to booting out members of Congress who stood for Palestinian human rights this year and successfully unseated two, that matters. We need to grow and defend our ranks to do more,” she added.

She also said disinformation was the driving force behind why some pro-Palestinian activists believed she was not a strong advocate of their cause.

“There is a LOT of disinformation going around. A LOT of people are getting ‘news’ from random viral social media posts (which given how censored this issue has been in mainstream media for so long, I understand, but not all of it is legit). Please understand that there is a lot of nefarious stuff getting amplified along with the legitimate stuff too,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The congresswoman also recounted getting accosted while in Chicago for the Democratic National Convention earlier this month for allegedly not labeling the war a “genocide,” which she has done publicly.

“Disinformation hurts movements from the inside and discredits them from the outside. It’s important to check. It’s everywhere,” Ocasio-Cortez said.

The New York Democrat is the most mainstream member of the “Squad,” receiving a speaking slot at last week’s DNC.

She criticized the DNC for not allowing a Palestinian speaker to address the convention after the family of an American Israeli hostage being held by Hamas spoke before the DNC.