A letter penned by the former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden decades ago is gaining popularity on TikTok, as several users have shared it on the video-sharing platform and reposted it on X (formerly Twitter).
NBC News reported that TikTok has taken down the hashtag #lettertoamerica, which had accumulated over 2 million views in its search, following the circulation of Osama bin Laden's 2002 "Letter to America."As per the report, the letter sparked a debate on U.S. support for Israel in its ongoing conflict with Hamas. The videos went viral on TikTok and were reposted on the social media platform X. Now, amidst the Israel-Hamas war, the viral content of Osama's letter, written 21 years ago to justify attacks on America, has been banned. The removal of the hashtag from TikTok's search function comes as social media users pointed out that bin Laden's document offers an alternative perspective on U.S. involvement in Middle East conflicts.

How did Bin Laden's letter to America go viral on TikTok?

The matter became notable when users began sharing a link to The Guardian's transcript of the letter, written a year after the September 11, 2001 attacks that claimed the lives of over 3,000 people. Subsequently, The Guardian removed the 21-year-old letter from its website.

In the letter, bin Laden addressed the American people and sought to answer the following 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 antisemitic language, as per NBC News.

Photo: September 11, 2001 (9/11) attacks in US

According to the report, Bin Laden's letter criticizes the United States' support for Israel and accuses Americans of aiding the oppression of the Palestinian people. Bin Laden, who was killed during a special operation by the U.S. in Pakistan in 2011, also denounced U.S. interventions in Afghanistan, Iraq, Kashmir, Somalia, Chechnya and Lebanon.

According to NewYork Post, White House spokesman Andrew Bates said, “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, particularly now, at a time of rising antisemitic violence in the world, and just after Hamas terrorists carried out the world slaughter of the Jewish people since the Holocaust in the name of the same conspiracy theories,”

According to Ben Rathe, a spokesperson for TikTok, videos that showcase bin Laden's letter go against the platform's guidelines. According to reports, Ben Rathe mentioned that Content promoting this letter violates Tiktok's rules on supporting any form of terrorism. He said," 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,"

(With Input from Agencies)