Ms. Rachel Is in Hot Water After Accidentally Liking an Antisemitic Instagram Comment

YouTube content creator Ms. Rachel focuses on making educational videos and music for young children. Although she's usually beloved by kids and parents alike, she's facing scrutiny after accidentally liking an antisemitic comment on one of her Instagram posts.

Ms. Rachel said that she "liked" the antisemitic comment by accident and that her intention was to delete the comment instead of liking it and drawing more attention to it. She issued multiple apologies and justifications for her online behavior, in both video and text formats.

Ms. Rachel shared a screenshot of a conversation she had with a follower, in which the follower alerted her to her account "liking" the comment. The message says that Ms. Rachel liked a comment reading, "Free America from the Jews." "I'm sure that's an accident, so wanted to let you know," the social media user said.

Ms. Rachel responded by saying that she actually deleted the comment. "I believe I deleted that earlier right when I saw it. I hate antisemitism," she replied.

In the caption of Ms. Rachel's post showing the screenshot, she wrote, "Obviously the like and hiding was just tapping and thought it was deleted. This is from yesterday. People are allowed to make mistakes. I am super sorry for any confusion it caused. I delete antisemitism ANY time I see it. I am against all forms of hate, including antisemitism against the Jewish people."

In her apology video, Ms. Rachel said that she thought she deleted the antisemitic comment, but pressed "like" accidentally instead. She stated that she would never agree with anything antisemitic, adding that she has Jewish family members and lots of Jewish friends.

She even showed the message she received from a fan, saying that the screenshot proves that she genuinely thought she deleted the comment rather than liking it.

"The internet, I guess, has picked it up, believing that that’s what happened. ... I feel like we can’t be human anymore online," Ms. Rachel said. She apologized for the confusion that her "like" caused and for the fact that anyone might think she would ever agree to something like that.

She defended herself, saying, “It is OK to be human, and it is OK to make mistakes. And I’m old, so I’m not as good at … touching things online, I guess."

Ms. Rachel concluded the apology video by pointing out that her advocacy is "wonderful and beautiful" and that there's "nothing wrong" with her advocacy, arguing that it shouldn't be controversial to say how kids should be treated.

The comments under her apology video are mixed. Some fans, like Broad City's Ilana Glazer, wrote messages of support, saying they believe that Ms. Rachel liked the comment by accident.

But others are skeptical, saying things like, "Jewish mama here. I want to believe you. Alas. I do not," and "The internet isn’t picking on you. You’ve been showing your antisemitism for a while. You slipped up and accidentally liked what’s on your mind."

In a text post, Ms. Rachel wrote that she misunderstood what was happening in her comment section. She thought that the author of the antisemitic comment liked the comment, not her. "I pinned it because I thought I didn't 'like' the comment in the first place. I thought maybe it explained the situation. I said 'oooooohhh' like ooooh they liked their own comment, not me," she explained.

Then she said she asked her team whether "author liked" meant the author of the comment liked it or if she herself liked it. That's when she realized she'd liked the comment by accident. "The whole thing is a mistake and a misunderstanding," she concluded.

Ms. Rachel wrote a lengthy caption for the post, apologizing again and saying that she's been praying a lot and she's "blessed to have God" and her family.

She added that she teaches her kids that it's OK to make mistakes and that "we can figure anything out together."

"I think when we hold everyone to standards where they can’t make honest mistakes, it makes people stay more silent in the face of injustice, and I’m not going to do that. Silence in the face of injustice might also cause me to be more loved and for more people to watch the show, but I’m not going to do that either," she wrote. It appears that the comments are disabled for the post.