In a recent and concerning trend on the popular social media platform TikTok, some woke young Americans have been sympathizing with notorious terrorist Osama bin Laden and expressing support for his controversial “Letter to America,” which has been recirculating across social media this week.
Bin Laden’s letter, originally penned in 2002, serves as his justification for the horrific 9/11 attacks that claimed the lives of nearly 3,000 Americans in New York City, Washington, D.C., and Pennsylvania.
The document is filled with anti-Western and anti-Semitic rhetoric, and woke youngsters are gushing over it, as videos related to this trend have already accumulated over 14 million views on TikTok. Some users have expressed support for bin Laden’s views, suggesting that America has a history of terrorizing people since its inception.
One TikTok user stated, “I’m not about to sit here and act like [bin Laden] ’s just the worst person in the world when America has literally been terrorizing people since the beginning of history.”
The user compared the 9/11 attacks to actions taken by the American government in other parts of the world, particularly in the Middle East.
“When what’s his name, fucking, whatever the guy’s name is that discovered America and found the land, he lied…Put yourself in their shoes, 3,000 people died on 9/11, compared to the millions that Americans have killed in Palestine,” he stated in the video, which had raked in over 1.6 million views before it was removed.
A New York-based influencer also encouraged people to read the letter, claiming that it had a profound impact on her perspective. “In the last 20 minutes, my entire viewpoint on the entire life I have believed and I have lived has changed. Please read that entire letter,” she asserted.
“I need you to stop what you’re doing and go read a ‘Letter to America,” another male added, going ahead to imply that “Under settler colonialism, any kind of resistance is branded as [terrorism] because the only acceptable violence is violence by the occupier.”
Reactions to the trend have been largely critical, with Robert O’Neill, the Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden, commenting, “Deceit is a mask the Devil puts over the eyes of useful idiots.”
The new Tik Tok fad is the positive reaction from gen Z after reading "Letter to America" by Osama bin Laden.
Deceit is a mask the Devil puts over the eyes of useful idiots.
— Robert J. O'Neill (@mchooyah) November 16, 2023
Conservative voices have also been vocal about the trend, with radio host Clay Travis expressing concern over the praise such a dreaded terrorist is receiving and blaming the anomaly on the left’s woke teachings.
Osama Bin Laden is being praised on the left for attacking America. And Tik Tok is helping these clips go viral to idiot kids. This is what happens when for a generation the left has taught kids that America is evil. https://t.co/5q7mX6bysA
— Clay Travis (@ClayTravis) November 16, 2023
Journalist Megyn Kelly criticized the parents of some participants in the trend, suggesting that they failed to instill a proper moral code and a love of country in their children.
“To the parents of all of these losers suddenly persuaded by the deranged musings of the man who murdered 3k American innocents: you failed,” she tweeted.
To the parents of all of these losers suddenly persuaded by the deranged musings of the man who murdered 3k American innocents: you failed. You were likely boozing, marching for some L-wing cause and/or simply ignoring your kids. You failed to teach wrong from right, a proper…
— Megyn Kelly (@megynkelly) November 16, 2023
Politico Noam Blum also weighed in, tweeting, “TikTok brain is reading a rant by Osama bin Laden, realizing you agree with him on everything, and concluding not that you need to rethink your life, but that you need to rethink your priors about Osama bin Laden.”
TikTok brain is reading a rant by Osama bin Laden, realizing you agree with him on everything, and concluding not that you need to rethink your life, but that you need to rethink your priors about Osama bin Laden.
— Noam Blum (@neontaster) November 16, 2023
Meanwhile, TikTok has publicly taken a stance against the strange promotion, claiming to be “proactively and aggressively” taking down any content in support of bin Laden and his letter. “Content promoting this letter clearly violates our rules on supporting any form of terrorism,” the Chinese-owned platform stated.