news TikTok in hot water after Osama Bin Laden goes viral

[VOSS]

Quote

Videos on TikTok supporting a decades-old letter by Osama bin Laden criticizing the United States and its support of Israel surged in popularity this week, adding to accusations that the company is fueling the spread of antisemitic content. The White House condemned the resurfacing of the letter.

 

The letter, titled “Letter to America,” was published a year after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, that were orchestrated by Bin Laden. He defended the attacks in New York and Washington and said Americans had become “servants” to Jews, who he said controlled the country’s economy and media. American taxpayers, he wrote, were complicit in harming Muslims in the Middle East, including destroying Palestinian homes.

 

Some TikTok users said this week that they viewed the document as an awakening to America’s role in global affairs and expressed their disappointment in the United States. One popular video showed a TikTok user brushing her hair with the caption, “When you read Osama bin Laden’s letter to America and you realize you’ve been lied to your whole entire life.”

 

Early Thursday, a search for #lettertoamerica showed videos with 14.2 million views. By midday, as TikTok sought to block the content, searches on the site for “osama bin laden,” “bin laden letter” and “osama letter” and the hashtag #lettertoamerica yielded no results on the “videos” tab of TikTok, though some videos were still viewable with some digging.

 

Alex Haurek, a spokesman for TikTok, said that “content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” and that the company was “aggressively removing this content and investigating how it got onto our platform.”

 

A transcript of bin Laden’s letter posted on The Guardian in 2002 became the second-most-viewed page on its site on Wednesday, leading the news organization to remove it from the site.

 

“The transcript published on our website in 2002 has been widely shared on social media without the full context,” said Matt Mittenthal, a spokesman for The Guardian. “Therefore, we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that originally contextualized it instead.”

Source

[Mitsouko]

Quote

“When you read Osama bin Laden’s letter to America and you realize you’ve been lied to your whole entire life.”

[glitch]

Oh that's not...

[uusagii]

Yikes

[Revolution]

So OBL, a rich Saudi elite, taking advantage of Afghanistan and parts of Africa is totally okay and not colonist at all.

 

Once again, like with the Uyghurs or the Kurds, we are reminded that non-Arab Muslims are second-class and don't matter.

[ctlp27]

Concerning... the level of... education?

[Virgos Groove]

TikTokers acting like he's saying something revolutionary when literally any leftist would tell you that. They (TikTokers) would rather stan ******* Bin Laden of all people than read basic anti-imperialist literature.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Virgos Groove

[Bosque]

I'm sure some rather... interesting opinions are going to be spread in this thread soon 

[Domination]

8 minutes ago, VOSS said:

“When you read Osama bin Laden’s letter to America and you realize you’ve been lied to your whole entire life.”

…  

 

Did they happen to just gloss over the parts about Jews leading the West into a culture of degeneracy (explicitly referencing homosexuality and gambling) and calling for Sharia law to be implemented?

[Pikachoo]

this is why i dont trust any of these pro palesine protests. nope. theres something more sinister luring under these protests ok? yes there are. NOW, let me clarify myself. I support the Palestinian people. they deserve human rights. but these pro palestine characters? nope. chanting from the sea to the mountain? no ma'am. we do not earn peace with by responding with violence. something has to be done if we have reached the point where young influencers who do not know how to do anything in life like separate laundry are now listening to osama bin laden. when osama bin laden is now the voice of reason. if you say you are pro palestine and then share a bin laden video, then in my mind, you are an anti Semite. yes you are. if you go out and protest against israel but continue but stay silent on the other atrocities going on in the world, i am looking at you sideways. religion should not be our motivator for wanting peace. we should want peace for palestine on a basic human right level, but it seems like these protests are becoming more and more sectarian in nature. like arab muslims are first class, then the southeast muslims, then the rest. this determines levels of injusitce? synagogues are being burned. why? and now bin laden? i need the muslim communities of the west to ounce and for all denounce anti Antisemitism. i need a joint declaration. because until i see this, im sorry, but i am very suspect of the protests. And yes, the israeli defence force needs to be stopped too. they are violent criminals.

Edited November 17, 2023 by Pikachoo

[If U Seek Amy]

I understand why many are rightfully upset with the American government and many of its current and former actions that can be considered terroristic. But it is concerning that some are taking their frustrations of it out by turning around and showing sympathy or even support in some cases for other terrorists because of it. Especially coming through a lens of framing meant to make you feel that way and is just another propaganda angle they are falling for and thinking this information has made them enlightened. 

 

There is such a huge amount of information and propaganda coming from various perspectives online that it is just about impossible to discern the truth about so many things. People will take a few random statements or photos from one individual on Twitter and claim it as fact with no verification because it’s what they want to believe or helps them push their point. And everyone wants to push their perspective or agenda and I feel worried about how many people are becoming radicalized to many sides regardless of which that is regardless of which it is. And it has now become a game of making comparisons of who is worse and why that makes their side “better” for being less worse instead of seemingly actually just caring and helping all innocent parties involved for many. It’s more about “being right” to some people in some weird moral high ground battle online and that is exactly why conflict continues. Humans are sadly predictable and continue their historical behavioral. 

 

The individual and those spreading it are so ignorant and it’s good this is being addressed and stopped. It’s one thing to spread awareness of the problems caused by the US government and make the world more conscious of history and current events to help fight back from it happening again. It’s another to begin sympathizing with and even encouraging terrorism in some cases in response because you’re upset with one government. They’re simply perpetuating more harm 

Edited November 17, 2023 by If U Seek Amy

[Dula Peep]

This is literally what most of you are serving on this site. The left is completely lost if we're siding with terrorists now.  

[Bears01]

I’m for Palestinian freedom. 
 

HOWEVER, I will not act like this whole ordeal hasn’t brought out some absolute lunatics and grade A morons,  I won’t be surprised soon If a “trend” of reading “Mein Kempf” goes viral and then people start saying “ya know, Hitler really made some points!” 

[Anthinos]

I'm sorry but TikTok must be banned. Social Media in general is out of control especially TikTok and right wing Twitter. I'm not against free speech but what is the limit? Social Media has become a lawless place. Such things destroy the cohesion in our society and weaken it.

[If U Seek Amy]

Something else people need to consider that is an ugly reality is how the pro-Palestine movement itself opens up many to becoming subjugated to being radicalized for nefarious purposes by those that wish harm upon the US or Jews or many other groups. Just as the Israeli government is taking the chance to try to propaganda many into thinking they’re innocent. 

 

I am not saying the pro-Palestine movement should not exist and is bad. I support the movement and education of Americans and the innocent do need a voice. But any time big groups form and are acting/thinking emotionally it leads them to being vulnerable to manipulation by those with ill intentions. Keep the support on, just be cognizant of sources and information or else you become like these people who are now thinking Bin Laden was possibly some good person 

[LustSpell]

This app is a disgrace to humanity

[Illuminati]

Pretty sure in the letter he encouraged to purge America of homosexuality, loans, sex and drinking and embrace islam as the only religion with some nazi rhetoric about jews controlling the world thrown into it

[Peak Now]

The tankie-ism is showing I fear. That and/or a lack of critical thinking skills

[Almighty Gaga]

If you really need Bin Laden to tell you how evil America is, that says a lot about how brainwashed the US managed to make its people over the past 3 decades. 

 

Edited November 17, 2023 by Almighty Gaga

[Delirious]

Yep I saw this on Reddit. I didn't expect it to be in the news now YIKES

 

A lot of the younger TikTok generation are so gullible and it's unfortunate.

[Bears01]

Just now, Almighty Gaga said:

If you really need Bin Laden to tell you how evil America is, that says a lot about how brainwashed the US managed to make its people over the past 3 decades. 

 

Americans don’t need to listen to a mass murdering psychopath telling them to live lives under sharia law and how evil Jews are, to learn anything. 
 

 

[MonsterTown]

i saw this on twitter just like 1 hour ago.. its crazy.

[Delirious]

10 minutes ago, Illuminati said:

Pretty sure in the letter he encouraged to purge America of homosexuality, loans, sex and drinking and embrace islam as the only religion with some nazi rhetoric about jews controlling the world thrown into it

Yes

2 minutes ago, Almighty Gaga said:

If you really need Bin Laden to tell you how evil America is, that says a lot about how brainwashed the US managed to make its people over the past 3 decades. 

 

Everyone knows US is a corrupt and a chaotic mess (what country isn't though) but that's not what bin Laden's message was only about. There was so much more in the letter

[Raver]

These people have lost their mind 

I would never side with a terrorist 

[If U Seek Amy]

4 minutes ago, Bears01 said:

Americans don’t need to listen to a mass murdering psychopath telling them to live lives under sharia law and how evil Jews are, to learn anything. 
 

 

Right. I think something many forget is like even most Americans hate their own government to varying levels. They aren't just completely clueless to how much it sucks, and it is annoying how many people online think Americans are completely just in love with the government and supportive of all it does simply because they support SOME of the things it does. But then those same people turn around and get mad when others do it to other countries and call them ignorant. Or so they seem to imply in the way they talk. Everyone has different ideas about how they think it should be changed for the better. But do you really think those hundreds of millions of people are just going to dismantle their entire lives/government because they're upset about things because it is good for others potentially? Like yes, the government sucks sometimes, but I also like having reasonable order that gives me a chance to have a home, a place for my loved ones, a job, easy access to water/food, and more. Get real for one minute