TikTok Is ‘Aggressively Removing’ bin Laden Letter Videos

TikTok is trying to distance itself from controversial viral videos on its platform that praised a decades-old letter by Osama bin Laden.

The app is "proactively and aggressively removing" those clips, which have quickly accumulated 14 million views, a company spokeswoman said.

The videos took off in the past week when TikTok users discovered the bin Laden letter's existence through a Guardian story. The terrorist's missive, "Letter to America," blasts the U.S. for supporting Israel against Palestinian forces, among other criticisms.

The interest in bin Laden's letter comes amid an outpouring of support for Palestine by the app's young users, since Israel's conflict with Hamas in the Gaza Strip began last month.

The pro-Hamas content has reignited worries among Americans about the Chinese-owned app — fueling concerns that Chinese authorities could use the platform to stoke mistrust against the U.S. and divide Americans. (TikTok has long denied any ties to the country's communist government.) More broadly, younger Americans' support for Palestine contrasts sharply with the pro-Israeli sentiment held by older generations, a disagreement that has echoed throughout Washington and intensified as Israel's invasion into Gaza has drawn more casualties.