A letter written by Al Qaida leader Osama bin Laden is making waves on TikTok after several users posted it on the video sharing platform and shared it on X (formerly Twitter). TikTok has taken down the hashtag #lettertoamerica, which had over 2 million views, from its search results after bin Laden’s 2002 “Letter to America” sparked a debate about US support for Israel in the ongoing conflict with Hamas, according to NBC News. Some social media users argue that the document, penned by the Al Qaeda founder, offers an alternative perspective on US involvement in Middle Eastern conflicts, a viewpoint that has been criticized by the White House.
The issue gained attention when users began sharing a link to The Guardian’s transcript of the letter, which was written a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks that claimed the lives of over 3,000 people. The Guardian has since removed the 21-year-old letter from its website.
In the letter, bin Laden addresses the American people and attempts to answer the questions, “Why are we fighting and opposing you?” and “What are we calling you to, and what do we want from you?” The letter includes anti-Semitic language, as reported by NBC News.
The letter has sparked a debate on social media regarding its validity and the morality of bin Laden’s message, with some expressing sympathy while others condemn or mock it. People discussing the letter claim that it has caused them to reevaluate their beliefs about US wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. However, they also clarify that they are not praising or defending bin Laden’s orchestration of the 9/11 attacks.
Critics of TikTok argue that this incident demonstrates that the app, owned by Chinese tech giant ByteDance, has secretly amplified propaganda to a captive audience of American youth.
Bin Laden’s letter also criticizes US support for Israel and accuses the US of aiding the oppression of the Palestinian people. The Al Qaida leader also condemns US interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Somalia, Chechnya, and Lebanon, according to The Washington Post.
The White House has denounced the sharing of the letter, stating that “no one should ever insult the 2,977 American families still mourning loved ones by associating themselves with the vile words of Osama bin Laden.”
Former South Carolina governor Nikki Haley, a 2024 GOP presidential primary candidate, is among the politicians who have criticized the letter and called for social media reform.
“When you look at social media, I have long said that we have to ban TikTok. And if you didn’t know why, there’s another example today,” Ms. Haley said in an interview with Fox News.
TikTok spokesperson Ben Rathe stated that videos featuring bin Laden’s letter violate the platform’s guidelines.
“Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism. We are proactively and aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform. The number of videos on TikTok is small, and reports of it trending on our platform are inaccurate. This is not unique to TikTok and has appeared across multiple platforms and the media,” Rathe said.
