The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden’s ‘Letter To America’ After It Goes Viral On TikTok
Al-Qaida leader Osama Bin Laden speaks to a selected group of reporters in the mountains of Helmand province in southern Afghanistan. (AP Photo/Rahimullah Yousafzai, File)
The Guardian removed Osama bin Laden’s 21-year-old ‘Letter to America’ from their website late Wednesday, following its viral spread on TikTok.
A spokesperson for the media organisation said: “The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared today on social media without its original context.”
Readers now find a message explaining the removal of the translated document.
The Guardian now has a placeholder message where Osama bin Laden’s Letter To America was previously posted. (Screengrab/The Guardian)
The letter, originally reported in the Observer on November 24, 2002, and published on The Guardian’s website the same day, resurfaced when TikTok users, led by user Lynnette Adkins, urged their followers to read it.
https://www.tiktok.com/@lynetteadkins/video/7301387678816292138
Adkins, who has almost 12 million followers, said: “I need everyone to stop doing what they’re doing right now and go read ‘Letter to America,’ I feel like I’m going through an existential crisis right now.”
The letter, still accessible elsewhere online, includes bin Laden’s assertion that the September 11, 2001 attacks were a response to America’s support of Israel He wrote: “They threw hundreds of thousands of soldiers against us and have formed an alliance with the Israelis to oppress us and occupy our land; that was the reason for our response on the eleventh.”
The letter’s resurgence on TikTok sparked discussions and revelations among users, who commented on his insights and reflected on past perceptions of bin Laden surfaced. The trend influenced search trends on TikTok, with users seeking summaries and explanations of the letter.
This event coincides with heightened tensions caused internationally by the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu recently dismissed allegations his military were committing war crimes in Gaza in a campaign that has killed more than 11,000 people, including over 4,500 children, according to authorities.
The region saw escalated conflict following a Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, killing over 1,400 Israeli civilians.
