NEW YORK, N.Y. – Last week, TikTok users flooded the app, first praising and then denouncing Osama Bin Laden, the architect of the 9/11 attacks on America. The eventual online outrage, predominantly from members of Gen Z, had little to do with terrorism and instead centered on insensitive, problematic tweets.
Bin Laden first leaped back into the news cycle last week when multiple TikTok users posted clips discussing Bin Laden’s “Letter to America,” a document authored by the terrorist leader in an attempt to justify the September 11, 2001 attacks on America for which he is best known.
According to insiders, screenshots of old Bin Laden tweets started appearing online on the evening of November 17, 2023. The reposted tweets were mainly run-of-the-mill “Death to America” messages and declarations of various Jihads. But a tweet stating “Fat chicks are not halal #Blech” immediately set off a firestorm only made worse by several that followed, including one stating “Mermaids should be white! #GoWokeGoBroke,” which was surprising considering Bin Laden died twelve years before the Little Mermaid remake.
“I read his Letters to America and I was like, why are we teaching US school kids about George Washington and not having them read this letter,” said online influencer BarryBongs6969. “But that was when I assumed his punctuation meant he was an ally to the body-positive community.” BarryBongs6969’s reaction mirrors the rapidly shifting tides of Gen Z online opinion, which initially seemed very much in Bin Laden’s favor. However, as users began looking through tweets from the former head of Al Qaeda's verified account, many did not like what they found.
