Watch Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez explain why she tackles Twitter trolls

"Don't feed the trolls" is a cardinal rule of the internet — a rule Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) chooses to ignore.

When commenters, pundits, and even elected officials target the freshman congresswoman's progressive ideas on Twitter, she does the unthinkable: She responds. It's all in an effort to debunk "completely unfounded attacks" before "they grow legs and start walking around," she tells Spectrum News NY1.

Most high-profile politicians ignore "bad faith attacks," like those from "birther" conspiracists claiming former President Barack Obama wasn't born in the U.S., Ocasio-Cortez notes in the interview that aired Tuesday night. But ignoring those attacks because they're "beneath the president" only caused them to grow, she continued. That's why Ocasio-Cortez says "sometimes," it's necessary to "break this fourth wall a little bit" and "squash" a rumor or conspiracy "early."

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Ocasio-Cortez also discussed why it's important for a congressmember to live in their district and the everyday details of her Green New Deal in the hour-long interview. Listen to it all at Spectrum News NY1.