"World Wars and 9/11 Were Caused by Jews"... Beauty Influencer's Video Deleted from TikTok

Huda Beauty CEO Huda Kattan's Video Deleted by TikTok
Platform Cites "Violation of Community Guidelines"

TikTok has deleted a video by Huda Kattan, the CEO of Huda Beauty and a prominent beauty influencer, after she promoted antisemitic conspiracy theories. Kattan is a well-known influencer with 11 million followers on TikTok and 57 million followers on Instagram.

According to the BBC on July 31 (local time), Kattan posted a video on TikTok on July 27 in which she claimed that Israel was responsible for World War I, World War II, the 9/11 attacks, and the October 2023 Hamas attack on Israel. In the video, she said, "I just had a feeling. I wondered, 'Could they be behind all the world wars?' Yes. Behind the 9/11 attacks? Of course." In addition, Kattan repeatedly made baseless claims, such as alleging that Israel protects child sex offenders.

Huda Kattan, CEO of Huda Beauty and beauty influencer. Huda Beauty Instagram

TikTok announced on July 28 that the video was deleted for violating its community guidelines. TikTok's community guidelines prohibit misinformation, the promotion of hateful ideologies, and content that could cause significant harm, including conspiracy theories.

Kattan, who was born in Oklahoma to a family of Iraqi immigrants, founded the global beauty brand Huda Beauty in 2013. In 2023, she was named one of the BBC's 100 most influential women and ranked 15th on Forbes' list of the world's wealthiest online creators that same year.

The Anti-Defamation League, an organization dedicated to combating antisemitism, issued a statement regarding the controversial video, saying, "Such dangerous and baseless accusations reflect age-old and malicious antisemitic tropes," and added, "Using such a massive business platform to spread antisemitic conspiracy theories is incendiary, irresponsible, and dangerous."

The American Jewish Committee also stated to the BBC, "This is not 'criticism of Israel.' It is repackaging centuries-old hatred and broadcasting it to millions." The statement continued, "It is not only ironic but also dangerous for a beauty company to spread such ugliness," and emphasized, "As antisemitic hatred spreads, we cannot and will not remain silent."