Elon Musk Locks Kanye West’s Twitter Account Over Swastika Post
Rapper Kanye West is currently on yet another a time out from Twitter after testing the limits of owner Elon Musk’s free speech policy. Twitter issued Ye with a 12-hour suspension late Thursday after he tweeted a picture of swastika inside a Star of David with the caption “YE24 LOVE EVERYONE #LOVESPEECH”.
West posted a picture of a notification informing him of the suspension due to his violation of Twitter’s rules on the platform Truth Social. Musk confirmed on Twitter that West’s suspension was due to “incitement of violence.” It had nothing to do, he added, with the unflattering photos West had tweeted of Musk wearing swimwear on a yacht. “Frankly, I found those pics to be helpful motivation to lose weight,” Musk said.
Musk’s takeover of Twitter has been fraught with debates about the limits of free speech, and the willingness of the company’s new owner to take the dangers of hate speech seriously. Many of Twitter’s users are unclear about where Musk will the draw the line — although his suspension of Ye on Thursday gives us some indication. Whether this will set a precedent for future content moderation is unclear, as there remains a lack of transparency over Twitter’s moderation policy under Musk. This has been further exacerbated by Musk firing many of the key people at Twitter who were responsible for trust and safety on Twitter.
Musk has already restored the accounts of several notable figures who were previously suspended by the platform for hate speech, including Jordan Peterson, Andrew Tate, Project Veritas and former President Donald Trump. Ye had his own account restored after Musk’s takeover, but Twitter suspended him again between Nov. 4 and Nov. 21 after he tweeted “going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE.”
The tweet that sparked Ye’s suspension on Thursday is the latest in a spate of displays of antisemitic sentiment from the rapper, who has expressed his intent to run for the US presidency in 2024. His antisemitism plays into conspiracy theorist tropes about Jewish people that have no basis in truth, but serve to reinforce far-right extremist agendas while making the Jewish community a target for hate and violence.
West’s antisemitism is not only getting him in trouble with Twitter. Several big companies including Adidas and Gap have ended partnerships with the the rapper over his behavior. Still, West keeps doubling down on antisemitic rhetoric — something this latest Twitter ban is unlikely to change.
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