Media is wrongly claiming Embassy’s statement as an apology

They have given in to conservative narrative by falsely implying that the statement was an apology. The statement doesn't in any way apologize, justify, or give ground to the perpetrators of the attacks.

First, the statement does not use the word ‘apology’ or ‘apologize’ and does not use any synonym for that word. There is no statement here that says, ‘We are sorry.’

"Second, the grammar of the statement condemns the actions of a third party. An apology, to be pedantic, is when the first party says to the second party, ‘I have offended you and I am sorry.’ This statement condemns a third party -- misguided individuals -- that does not officially represent the United States. The term ‘individuals’ dissociates them from the U.S. Therefore, it's impossible to say that this is an apology from the U.S. to anyone.

"Third, the statement does not apologize for the right of free speech; it affirms it. It condemns those who abuse the right of free speech, but it claims that this is a universal right, as is religious toleration. So, the statement does not like what the misguided individuals said and did, but recognizes they have a right to do it."

"It's a condemnation," Murphy said, "not an apology."

In the late afternoon on Sept. 11, Nuland confirmed that the U.S. consulate in Libya was under attack, but she did not say if anyone had been killed. In her statement — the first official statement we could find from the State Department in Washington — Nuland said: “We condemn in strongest terms this attack on our diplomatic mission.” There was no sympathizing with the attackers. The statement was issued before the deaths were confirmed.