Van Jones apologizes for Gaza images foreign disinformation remark

CNN commentator Van Jones apologized on Sunday for remarks he made on Friday during an appearance on Real Time with Bill Maher in which he suggested images of dead children in Gaza were part of a foreign disinformation campaign. Jones said on the program that Iran and Qatar had mounted a “massive” campaign on platforms such as TikTok and Instagram and imitated young users’ feeds by repeating the phrase “dead Gaza baby” several times, a formulation that drew laughter in the studio and immediate criticism online.

In posts on X early Sunday, Jones acknowledged the comments were wrong and offered apologies. “Yeah, I messed up on this one. And I’m sorry,” he wrote. He added in a second post, “I made a comment on Real Time with Bill Maher about the war in Gaza that was insensitive and hurtful. I apologize. The suffering of the people of Gaza especially the children is not a punch line.” He said his intent had been to raise awareness about foreign adversaries creating chaos online, but that his wording was “easily misunderstood” and “flat-out insensitive,” and he expressed sympathy for families enduring loss and fear.

The remarks prompted sharp rebukes from activists, religious leaders...