Rogers, the top US diplomat responsible for public diplomacy and global messaging, posted comments on X (formerly Twitter) invoking stereotypes about Jews and immigrants that critics say echo the very bigotry the State Department claims to oppose.

The message referenced Germany’s history and recent migration patterns in inflammatory terms: “Germany infamously retains very few Jews, yet imported barbarian rapist hordes…”, language that human rights advocates say crosses a line for a senior US official and feeds into racist narratives about refugees and Muslim communities.

The remarks came in a thread responding to an unverified screenshot of a purported news article about a fringe claim that an Islamic scholar justified sexual violence, an article that, as of now, cannot be located or confirmed in any credible news outlet.