Ms. Rachel attends the Sesame Workshop 2024 Benefit Gala. (Photo by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images)
Children’s educational content creator Ms. Rachel broke her silence to defend the “human rights” of Palestinian children on Thursday, a week after a pro-Israel group urged the Department of Justice to investigate her over posts about the war in Gaza.
“Children have human rights…Standing up for children, especially those who are most vulnerable, is the right thing to do,” Accurso posted on Thursday. “All children have the right to food, water, medical care and education. All children should be protected from violence.”
The popular YouTuber, whose real name is Rachel Accurso, has racked up billions of views with her mellow, early childhood-focused content. However, her advocacy on social media for the tens of thousands of children impacted by the war caused an uproar. The pro-Israel advocacy group StopAntisemitism claimed Accurso had become a “mouthpiece for Hamas” in an April 7 post.
StopAntisemitism escalated their attacks last week last week, when director Liora Rez penned a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding the DOJ investigate “whether or not Ms. Rachel is being remunerated to disseminate Hamas-aligned propaganda to her millions of followers.”
“130 more Palestinian children killed. Over 15,000 Palestinian children killed total. Stop bombing children,” one post flagged by StopAntisemitism read.
The group accused the influencer of “incorporating Hamas-like propagated images and stories into her content” and said pictures of starving and injured children shared by Accurso could be misleading.
Accurso’s post was her first statement on the potential investigation from the Trump administration, and came just days after the birth of her second child, Susannah.
Accurso has faced far-right backlash online in the past. She stood behind a post celebrating Pride Month last year, citing her religious beliefs in her own defense.
“There are so many reasons I stand strong in love. I stand with everyone. That’s who I am, and the love back and the ‘God bless’ if you disagree is genuine,” she said last June.