What happened: On March 17, a clip of a Russian-American journalist, Julia Ioffe, whose comparison of Syria and Ukraine went viral for the wrong reasons as Ioffe said in a CNN show, “It’s one thing for sarin gas to be used on people in faraway Syria who are Muslim and of a different culture. But what is Europe going to do when it’s used on European territory by Europeans?” Click here to see the video of the statement in question. Details: The video was first shared on TikTok and has now received over 300,000 views on Twitter just over two hours after it was shared by Huffington Post reporter Rowaida Abdelaziz, who eventually removed the video after Ioffe said it was taken out of context. Demand for an explanation: Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota demanded an explanation after seeing the original clip of Ioffe’s remarks. “I can’t believe I have to say it, but implying it’s fine to use sarin gas on people who are Muslim or Syrian is sick and evil,” the Congresswoman tweeted . “Let’s hope @juliaioffe responds with an explanation because this clip, in its current state, is horrifying and must be condemned.” Ioffe explains: In reply to Omar, Ioffe wrote, “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.” The transcript: Others discovered the entire show’s transcript and refuted Ioffe’s claims that the words were taken out of context as Afghan lawyer, Mirriam Zary shared to link to CNN’s transcript, “I went to look at the CNN transcript of @juliaioffe appearance the other night to see if I missed some context of her comment regarding sarin gas and Syria. But nope. She said what she said.” What you need to know: Several news agencies were called out for their racist portrayal of Russia’s deadly invasion of Ukraine, which began in late February as the statements implied that Europe isn’t “accustomed” to war or that invasions like Russia’s are limited to certain countries.