Osama bin Laden Letter’s Popularity on TikTok Stuns Biden Official

The U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona calls the popularity of Osama bin Laden’s letter circulating on TikTok “stunning.”

The two-page document titled “Letter to America” written by bin Laden in 2002 has been circulating over social media recently, catching the attention of some young Americans who believed that the man in charge of the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001, made some valid points.

Phil Mattingly from CNN This Morning told Cardona on Friday’s show: “It’s stunning to those of us who were alive during 9/11 and yet millions upon millions of people have viewed it.”

“You’re right, Phil, it is stunning,” Cardona replied. “I was a school principal when that happened, and that impacted how we taught students and how we protected students that day.”

Miguel Cardona speaks at the Queen Theatre on December 23, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. Cardona calls the popularity of Osama bin Laden’s letter on TikTok “stunning.” Joshua Roberts/Getty Images

The education secretary warned parents of misinformation that their children could be consuming.

“I do believe it is a lot—there is a lot of misinformation, and we have a responsibility collectively to make sure we’re guiding students on how to look for misinformation, how to be educated consumers of information,” Cardona said. “But I also think we need to continue to work with parents to make sure they are aware of what tools they have at their disposal, to limit misinformation from students and protect their students.”

Newsweek reached out to Secretary Cardona’s office via phone for comment.

Bin Laden’s letter was published 21 years ago by The Guardian and then later re-posted on TikTok, with the most popular clips getting over 1 million views each. The Guardian deleted the letter on Wednesday after it was being shared on social media “without the full context.”

The al-Qaeda founder’s words have been described as “mind-blowing” and a “revelation,” by young pro-Palestinian Americans amid the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

A few TikTokers made videos recreating their joy after hearing that bin Laden had been killed in 2011 by the U.S. military and then contrasted it with their shock after reading the terrorist leader’s letter in 2023, adding the phrase, “He was right.”

In the letter, bin Laden accused the U.S. of being responsible for the oppression of Palestinians due to its support of Israel.

“The American people are the ones who pay the taxes which fund the planes that bomb us in Afghanistan, the tanks that strike and destroy our homes in Palestine, the armies which occupy our lands in the Arabian Gulf, and the fleets which ensure the blockade of Iraq,” bin Laden wrote. “This is why the American people cannot be innocent of all the crimes committed by the Americans and Jews against us.”

Bin Laden claimed that Palestinians and the people of Afghanistan had to be “revenged” and justified the killing of nearly 3,000 Americans after two hijacked planes intentionally crashed into the Twin Towers at the World Trade Center over 22 years ago.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.

“);jQuery(this).remove()}) jQuery(‘.start-slider’).owlCarousel({loop:!1,margin:10,nav:!0,items:1}).on(‘changed.owl.carousel’,function(event){var currentItem=event.item.index;var totalItems=event.item.count;if(currentItem===0){jQuery(‘.owl-prev’).addClass(‘disabled’)}else{jQuery(‘.owl-prev’).removeClass(‘disabled’)} if(currentItem===totalItems-1){jQuery(‘.owl-next’).addClass(‘disabled’)}else{jQuery(‘.owl-next’).removeClass(‘disabled’)}})}})})