An open letter from Osama Bin Laden to the US justifying its September 11 terror attacks went viral after it was discovered by pro-Palestinian Gen Z TikTokers on the Guardian website.
The “Letter to America” was circulated among British Islamic extremists in 2002, a year after the atrocities, and depicted the al-Qaeda leader’s attempt to justify murderous acts in New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia that killed nearly 3,000 people became.
It was published in full on the Guardian’s website, based on a translation it obtained, under a link headed “Read the bin Laden letter in full” – but the newspaper has now removed it after people began posting it in the connection with Israel-Hamas war.
On TikTok and other social media platforms, creators appear to have equated the 9/11 mastermind’s views on Palestine with solidarity with the Palestinian people in the current conflict in the Middle East.
One user wrote: “I just read it… my eyes were opened,” while another said: “I think this made a lot of people realize that even ‘bad guys’ can tell the truth.”
Osama Bin Laden wrote his “Letter to America” in 2002 and used it in a twisted attempt to justify the 9/11 attacks
On Bin Laden’s orders, nearly 3,000 Americans were killed in New York City, Washington DC and Pennsylvania on September 11, 2001
The trend appears to have started with TikToker Lynette Adkins, who posted a video on November 14 urging her followers to read the manifesto
Hundreds of Gen Z users posted videos seemingly mistaking the hateful diatribe for an intellectual thought piece
Bin Laden – who was killed by U.S. troops during a Pakistan mission in May 2011 – espoused deeply anti-Semitic views and conspiracy theories in the letter, saying that the American army was “shamelessly helping Jews fight against us.”
He also attempted to justify the indiscriminate slaughter of American citizens by arguing that they indirectly finance the American military effort through the payment of taxes.
He wrote: “It is the American people who pay the taxes that fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that attack and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies that occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets attacking and destroying our homes in Palestine.” Ensuring the blockade of Iraq.
“These tax dollars are being given to Israel so that they can continue to attack us and invade our country.” “So it is the American people who are funding the attacks against us, and it is they who are using those funds in the way they want Wisely monitored by its elected candidates.”
The digital copy of the Guardian’s letter was shared on TikTok by a number of users – apparently deliberately ignoring bin Laden’s role as a terrorist warlord responsible for inciting and inciting atrocities around the world.
Most users also do not comment on bin Laden’s most extreme comments in the manifesto, including calls to “reject” homosexuality and claiming that AIDS is a “devilish American invention.”
The letter also promotes a long-standing anti-Semitic conspiracy theory about Jewish people, claiming that they have “taken control of your economy (and) your media… and made you their servants.”
These points are largely not discussed by those sharing the letter on social platforms.
A video containing the full text of the letter was tagged #freepalestine.
The trend appears to be due to influencer Lynette Adkins, who told her 177,000 followers: “I want everyone to stop doing what they’re doing and read Letter to America.” I feel like I’m going through an existential crisis at the moment.’
“Be warned, this left me disillusioned,” one user said.
Another video was titled: ‘Disclaimer: I don’t agree with everything in this letter.’ However, he made some good points.’
TikTok has also come under fire because its algorithm selectively “boosts” content that goes viral, making it visible to more users.
The hashtag #lettertoamerica has been viewed 12.5 million times on the site, according to its own statistics, while some of the videos have been liked over 100,000 times.
The Guardian’s website now displays this notice instead of the letter, which was previously published in full
The US continues to hold memorial ceremonies for the victims of 9/11, 22 years after the tragedy (Pictured: US flag unfurled at 2023 memorial ceremony)
Countdown mathematician Rachel Riley has criticized social media companies for “popularizing” terrorist manifestos
Author Frances Weetman claimed that the version of the letter published by the Guardian – which was full of anti-Semitic, homophobic and racist views – was “sanitised”.
Countdown mathematician Rachel Riley, a Jew, said on Humanity, then we have a problem.”
She signed off with a “stunning” emoji, adding: “No, Osama Bin Laden is not misunderstood.”
However, writer Frances Weetman had a different opinion: she claimed the Guardian version of bin Laden’s extremist letter had been “sanitised” to remove the most extreme anti-Semitic elements.
She wrote: “The real question is not why idiot leftist kids indoctrinated on Tiktok agree with Osama Bin Laden, but why the Guardian originally published a sanitized version of his words that removed the references to Jewish world power/capital.” deletes.”
Some TikTok users have expressed discomfort at sharing the views of a notorious terrorist leader.
One user commented on a video: “There are literally so many other ways to promote the liberation of Palestinians than empowering bin Laden.”
Web has contacted TikTok for comment.
In its 2002 article accompanying the letter, The Guardian said the text was published in Arabic on a Saudi Arabian website used by al-Qaeda to disseminate messages to followers, and was sent via E -Mail sent to British extremists.
Visiting the page where the letter was posted now displays the following message: “This page previously displayed a document that contained the full text of Osama bin Laden’s “Letter to the American People” in translation, as in Observer on Sunday reported November 24, 2002.
“The document posted here on the same day was removed on November 15, 2023.”
The Guardian said in a statement about the letter’s removal: “The transcript published on our website 20 years ago was widely shared on social media without full context.” We have therefore decided to remove it and direct readers to the news article instead , who originally contextualized it.”
However, the newspaper has also been criticized by some who claim that removing a manifesto riddled with anti-Semitism, racism and homophobia was a form of “censorship”.
Lynette Adkins, who is believed to have been among the first to share the letter on TikTok, said in a later video: “The Guardian’s deletion of this post is actually one of the worst things they could have done.”
Frederick Joseph, an author of books on racism, claimed it was an act of “narrative control” and added: “They were afraid that people had information, so they decided to remove it.”