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Guardian

The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Because It Went Viral on TikTok

“The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared today on social media without its original context. Therefore we have decided to take it down."
The Guardian Deletes Osama Bin Laden's 'Letter to America' Because It Went Viral on TikTok

The Guardian has removed a letter written by Osama Bin Laden, explaining his war against the United States is partly because of its support of Israel, after it had gone viral on TikTok.

“This page previously displayed a document containing, in translation, the full text of Osama bin Laden’s ‘letter to the American people,’ as reported in the Observer on Sunday 24 November 2002,” a note on the Guardian’s site where the letter previously appeared now reads. “The document, which was published here on the same day, was removed on 15 November 2023.”

“The transcript published on our website 20 years ago has been widely shared today on social media without its original context,” a spokesperson for The Guardian told 404 Media. “Therefore we have decided to take it down and direct readers to the news article that originally contextualized it instead.” 

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