TikTok to ban Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' viral trend
Short-form video platform TikTok said on Thursday that it will prohibit content promoting Osama bin Laden's 2002 "Letter to America," wherein the former al-Qaeda leader justified attacking the United States (US). The letter has recently gained traction on the platform amid discussions surrounding the Israel-Hamas war, with scores of Westerners, especially young Americans, admiring the letter and calling it "insanely eye-opening." In the letter, Laden criticized US support for Israel and accused Americans of funding the oppression of Palestinians.
Why does this story matter?
The terrorist group al-Qaeda attacked the US on September 11, 2001, killing nearly 3,000 people. Two months later, the US invaded Afghanistan to eliminate the Taliban for harboring al-Qaeda before withdrawing in 2021. It killed Laden in Pakistan in 2011. Conspiracy theories suggest that the US top brass was aware of the plot but allowed it to happen to manufacture consent for its war in Afghanistan. It is also alleged that the US intelligence wrote the purported letter.
Took down thousands of videos since October 7: TikTok
In a statement, TikTok asserted, "Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism." The company rejected claims that the letter was "trending" on the platform. A search for "Letter to America" on TikTok yielded no results on Thursday, displaying a message that the term may be linked to "content that violates our guidelines." TikTok said it has removed thousands of videos since October 7, when Hamas attacked Israel, for spreading misinformation and promoting violence.
Here are some users reacting to Laden's letter
US lawmakers called for banning TikTok
Prior to TikTok's announcement, some US lawmakers demanded a ban on the Chinese-owned app, accusing it of "pushing pro-terrorist propaganda to influence Americans." White House spokesperson Andrew Bates on Thursday denounced the spread of "repugnant, evil, and antisemitic lies" propagated by Laden after orchestrating the deadliest terrorist attack in American history. Last year, the US Congress and European Parliament ordered the app to be deleted from all government devices following allegations of censorship and having backdoors for Chinese surveillance.
The Guardian removes full text of Bin Laden's letter
On Wednesday, The Guardian removed the complete text of Laden's letter from its website, which it had published in 2002. The news outlet explained that the letter was being circulated on social media without proper context and would instead direct readers to the original news article covering the letter. In the letter, Laden made five references to the Israeli occupation of Palestine and called for eradicating Israel, accusing Jews of controlling the US "policies, media, and economy."
Viral trend planted by US, Israeli intelligence: Pro-Palestinians
Pro-Palestinian quarters have accused the US and Israeli intelligence of orchestrating the trend in an attempt to discredit them by associating their support for Palestine with al-Qaeda. The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has been accused of funding al-Qaeda and bringing about the Taliban's formation during the Soviet-Afghan War and the Afghan Civil War to defeat the Afghan communist government. The US government has denied the allegations, stating that it backed only the indigenous Afghan Mujahideen and not the Arab volunteers.
