The revival of Osama bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’ on TikTok, twenty years after the September 11 attacks, has sparked curiosity and discussion among the new generation. Many draw parallels between Osama bin Laden’s justification for the attack, citing US support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine as a violation of international law, and current events in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. This has led to renewed calls for a ceasefire in Gaza, as individuals debate the US role in the region and its impact on the ongoing situation in the Middle East.
In a now-deleted TikTok video, a user claimed that “everything we learned about the Middle East, September 11th and ‘terrorism’ was a lie.”
Another user said in a video: “I will never look at life the same way, I will never look at this country (USA) the same way. After you read it, let me know if you’re having an existential crisis. Because in the last twenty minutes my entire perspective on the entire life I have believed and lived has changed.”
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks have been posted (at least) with people talking about how they just read bin Laden’s infamous “Letter to America,” in which he explained why he attacked the United States.
The TikToks come from people of all ages, races, ethnicities and… pic.twitter.com/EwjiGtFEE3
– Yashar Ali???? (@yashar) November 16, 2023
Meanwhile, TikTok removes such videos “proactively and aggressively.” In a statement posted on Thursday X Thursday, TikTok said: “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules against supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it ended up on our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and reports that they are popular on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared on multiple platforms and in the media.”
Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules against supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it ended up on our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small and posts about them are trending on our… https://t.co/n9Zo7l94r2
— TikTok Policy (@TikTokPolicy) November 16, 2023
Osama bin Laden’s letter criticizes US foreign policy, which contains anti-Semitic and violent language, and specifically addresses US support for the Israeli occupation of Palestine.
After the letter went viral, several US lawmakers responded sharply, calling for a ban on the Chinese app. Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer said TikTok was “encouraging pro-terrorist propaganda to influence Americans.”
“These people sympathize with Osama bin Laden – the terrorist responsible for 9/11 and thousands of American deaths,” he wrote on X, previously on Twitter. “TikTok should be banned or sold to an American company.”
Watch below to see how Chinese-owned TikTok is pushing pro-terrorist propaganda to influence Americans.
These people sympathize with Osama bin Laden – the terrorist responsible for 9/11 and thousands of American deaths.
TikTok should be banned or sold to an American company. https://t.co/GOvnBZjXt4
— Rep. Josh Gottheimer (@RepJoshG) November 16, 2023
A White House spokesperson also denounced the TikTok trend, saying it was an “insult” to family members of 9/11 victims. “There has never been any justification for spreading the disgusting, evil and anti-Semitic lies that the leader of Al Qaeda issued shortly after committing the worst terrorist attack in American history,” WH spokesman Andrew Bates said Thursday.
The White House said you should never offend the 2,977 American families still grieving for their loved ones by associating themselves with the vile words of Osama bin Laden. “Especially now, at a time of increasing anti-Semitic violence in the world, and just after Hamas terrorists carried out the worst massacre of the Jewish people since the Holocaust in the name of the same conspiracy theories,” it added.
The Guardian removed a translated version of Osama bin Laden’s letter, originally published in 2002, after it was shared on social media without full context. The newspaper released a statement raising concerns about possible misinterpretations and referring readers to the original article, putting everything into context.