Foreign countries are influencing young Americans via the internet, Rep. Jared Moskowitz (D-FL) said Wednesday.
Moskowitz wrote in a social media post, “20 percent of young people have a positive view of bin Laden. While we focus on enhancing our physical borders, we must also realize foreign countries have infiltrated our kids’ minds through online propaganda.”
Moskowitz’s post referenced a recent J.L. Partners/Daily Mail survey that found that one in five young Americans holds a positive view of terrorist Osama bin Laden.
“The results of the survey come to no surprise, however, when one considers the anti-America rhetoric the left constantly feeds to young Americans,” according to Breitbart News.
American TikTok users were apparently sympathizing with bin Laden and recirculating his 2002 letter in which he tried to justify the horrific and violent acts that resulted in the mass murder of Americans on September 11, 2001, the outlet reported on November 16.
The Breitbart News report continued:
Amid the public debate on the Israel-Hamas war, young people are defending bin Laden for his opposition to America’s support for Israel. Videos on the topic have already garnered at least 14 million views.
“I’m not about to sit here act like [bin Laden]’s just the worst person in the world when America has literally been terrorizing people since the beginning of history,” one TikTok user said in a video.
TikTok, which China owns, later said it was removing videos that expressed support for bin Laden and promoted his letter, per Breitbart News.
“TikTok, owned by a hostile foreign nation, has already shown itself to be meddling in other country’s business, a national security threat, as well as a danger to teens and kids,” the outlet’s report said.
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In reply to Moskowitz’s post on foreign influence, one social media user commented, “If you don’t have a teenager, you have no idea what a real and massive problem this is.”