The video was shared across Twitter on Wednesday. It showed Ocasio-Cortez dancing on the roof of a building at BU as part of an internet trend at the time in which people would recreate scenes from popular 1980s movies.
"Here is America's favorite commie know-it-all acting like the clueless nitwit she is," read a widely circulated tweet from user AnonymousQ1776, who described the clip as a video from her high school days.
Numerous Twitter users came to Ocasio-Cortez's defense, with some drawing comparisons to arguments that then-Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh should not be judged for past behavior while Ocasio-Cortez should. Some also said the video made her more relatable.
The freshman representative responded to critics Friday by releasing another dancing video.
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"I hear the GOP thinks women dancing are scandalous. Wait till they find out Congresswomen dance too! Have a great weekend everyone," she tweeted, with a video of her dancing outside her new office on Capitol Hill.
In just hours, the tweet became Ocasio-Cortez's most retweeted tweet ever and garnered millions of views.
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The day after the original video resurfaced, Ocasio-Cortez was sworn in as the youngest woman in Congress. A woman has also created a parody account that tweets out videos of Ocasio-Cortez dancing to dozens of other popular songs.
Ocasio-Cortez has used social media throughout her campaign and since being elected to craft her brand of politics and communicate with constituents like never before: She's been known to talk policy while cooking with her Instant Pot.
She's also wielded the power of the Twitter quill to hit back against critics.
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When a Washington Examiner reporter posted a photo critical of her clothing and referring to her as a "girl," widespread outrage plus Ocasio-Cortez's response caused him to delete the tweet.
"Dark hates light - that's why you tune it out," she posted in response to that tweet about her clothes. "Shine bright + keep it pushing."
A similar fate befell the person who originally tweeted out the dancing video: It appears that @AnonymousQ1776 has deleted their account.
CNN contributed to this report.