Newspaper pulls bin Laden 9/11 letter over anti-Semitism
The Guardian has removed a letter written by Osama bin Laden from its website after it was seized on to make anti-Semitic comments on TikTok about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Guardian has removed a letter written by Osama bin Laden from its website after it was seized on to make anti-Semitic comments on social media about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Written 21 years ago and dubbed a “letter to America”, it was published in full in 2002, a year after the 9/11 attacks. It was taken down on Wednesday night.
The hashtag #lettertoamerica has been viewed almost 10 million times on TikTok, helping to propel the article to become one of the most-viewed stories on the Guardian’s website.
Bin Laden, who masterminded the terrorist attacks that killed almost 3,000 people, used antisemitic language in the letter and blamed the 9/11 attack on Jews.
“Your former president warned you previously about the devastating Jewish control of capital and about a day that would come when it would enslave you,” he wrote.
“The creation and continuation of Israel is one of the greatest crimes, and you are the leaders of its criminals. Each person whose hands have become polluted must pay its price.”
Over the past 24 hours, thousands of TikToks (at least) have been posted where people share how they just read Bin Laden’s infamous "Letter to America," in which he explained why he attacked the United States.
— Yashar Ali 😠(@yashar) November 16, 2023
The TikToks are from people of all ages, races, ethnicities, and… pic.twitter.com/EwjiGtFEE3
A Guardian spokesman said: “The transcript published on our website in 2002 has been widely shared on social media without the full context. Therefore we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that originally contextualised it instead.”
The Times
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