Old Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez dance video goes viral as supporters mock shaming attempt

An unearthed video purportedly showing Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-NY,  dancing in a college-era video was shared by conservative Twitter accounts Wednesday as an attempt to discredit the newly sworn-in progressive congresswoman. Instead, the clip went viral as messages of support were widely posted.

Calling Ocasio-Cortez a "clueless nitwit," an anonymous right-wing twitter account shared a video of young people dancing, saying it showed "High School video of 'Sandy' Ocasio-Cortez." The video has since been viewed more than 5 million times. 

The clip appears to be an edited version of a 2010 YouTube video of Boston University students dancing to the song "Lisztomania" by Phoenix. The viral clip has been shortened to feature Ocasio-Cortez, and the music has been replaced with a mocking soundtrack.

But much of the reaction on social media has been supportive of Ocasio-Cortez:

Ocasio-Cortez has become a face of a new movement of young, liberal-leaning Democrats in the country, but some conservatives have taken issue with her self-styled image as the working-class "Alex from the Bronx." Ocasio-Cortez grew up and went to school in suburban Yorktown in northern Westchester County, New York.

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She describes herself as a democratic-socialist and rose overnight to the national stage after upsetting veteran Democrat U.S. Rep. Joe Crowley in June primary.

Ocasio-Cortez has fiercely defended herself against criticisms of her upbringing: “As everyone knows, I grew up between two worlds + experienced 1st hand how a child’s zip code can shape their destiny. It was scrubbing those households’ toilets w/ my mother that I saw and breathed income inequality. I decided to make a difference."

A 2011 graduate of Boston University, Ocasio-Cortez has used "Sandy" as a nickname in the past and the 2010 YouTube credits "Sandy Ocasio-Cortez" as a participant.

The video includes links showing that creating dancing mash-ups of "Lisztomania" was an international trend in 2010. The trend began in 2009 when a remix video set clips of 1980s movies to the song, Time reports.

Contributing: Mark Lungariello and Isabel Keane, Rockland/Westchester Journal News