Sunday, October 09, 2022

Twitter locks Kanye West's account for antisemitic tweet following warm Elon Musk welcome

Taylor Hatmaker
Sun, October 9, 2022



Elon Musk's troubling, nascent vision for Twitter was on full display this weekend after the SpaceX and Tesla CEO strode into the center of a content moderation controversy created by Kanye West, who now goes by Ye.

West popped up on Twitter Friday night for the first time since November 2020, tweeting "Look at this Mark, How you gone kick me off instagram" with a blurry photo of himself and Meta founder Mark Zuckerberg singing karaoke. The company confirmed to The Hollywood Reporter that Instagram indeed removed content from West's account and placed restrictions on it following repeated policy violations. While West's account was still visible on Sunday, it's likely frozen from posting new content temporarily.

West's recent Instagram posts are all screenshots of texts, and the post that broke Instagram's rules appears to have been a conversation with Sean "Diddy" Combs in which he invoked antisemitic tropes, accusing the other musician of being controlled by "the Jewish people."

Future Twitter owner Elon Musk quickly swept in to welcome West back to the platform, in spite of the troubled artist's very recent expressions of antisemitism.

West appears to have interpreted Musk's warm welcome as a green light, elaborating on his antisemitic conspiracies in a tweet only 12 hours later. "I'm a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I'm going death [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE," West tweeted on Saturday night. " … You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda."



In spite of Musk's stamp of approval, Twitter removed the tweet, which invoked anti-Jewish stereotypes often espoused by white supremacists and locked West's account "due to a violation of Twitter’s policies," a Twitter spokesperson confirmed to TechCrunch.

Just before sowing chaos on Instagram and Twitter, West stirred up controversy at Paris fashion week, debuting a new line in a pop-up warehouse show that included a shirt with the phrase "White Lives Matter." The incident immediately pitted West again much of the fashion industry, which spoke out against him and defended Vogue Editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, who West attacked for criticizing his stunt as "deeply offensive, violent and dangerous."

If Elon Musk gets his way, Twitter will lose years of progress

Instagram and Twitter Restrict Kanye West’s Accounts for Antisemitic Comments


Bryan Kress
Sun, October 9, 2022 

In this article:


The post Instagram and Twitter Restrict Kanye West’s Accounts for Antisemitic Comments appeared first on Consequence.

Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have both been restricted after the controversial artist made antisemitic comments on the platforms over the weekend.

According to Rolling Stone, sources confirmed that certain content from West’s Instagram was restricted or deleted by Meta on Friday (October 7th). The action came after the rapper posted screenshots of a text exchange with Diddy in which Ye made several antisemitic innuendos. The post was subsequently deleted and condemned by groups like the American Jewish Committee via Instagram.

West then jumped to Twitter for the first time since 2020 on Saturday, where he posted a photo of him and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg along with the caption, “Look at this Mark – How you gone kick me off instagram.” Despite a warm welcome from would-be Twitter CEO Elon Musk, West was also booted from the platform within 24 hours after responding to antisemitic outcries with an unrepentantly racist post that read: “I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.” The post was removed and West’s Twitter account was locked out by Sunday morning due to “violations of Twitter’s policies.”

The social media lockout caps a week of troubling public appearances by West, who debuted a “White Lives Matter” shirt at a Yeezy show and doubled down on his decision while directing further ire at Vogue editor Gabriella Karefa-Johnson, Gigi Hadid, Black Lives Matter, and Jared Kushner during an interview on Fox News’ Tucker Carlson Tonight.

West’s most recent rants are sadly no surprise in this era of the once-admired artist’s embattled career. His complicated history was summarized best by Consequence’s 15th anniversary coverage in which West earned spots in retrospectives like, “How Music Has Evolved Over the Last 15 Years” and more importantly, “How Do We Reckon with Great Music by Terrible People?”

Kanye West slams Zuckerberg for Instagram restriction, earns praise from Elon Musk

By Adam Schrader

American rapper and entrepreneur Kanye West, wearing a bulletproof vest, addresses supporters during his first campaign event in the 2020 presidential election. File Photo by Richard Ellis/UPI | License Photo

Oct. 9 (UPI) -- Musician Kanye West has slammed Facebook co-founder Mark Zuckerberg after Instagram, which is owned by the social media company, restricted his account over rants on the platform that have been viewed as anti-Semitic.

"Look at this Mark. How you gone kick me off Instagram. You used to be my [expletive]," West, 45, tweeted Saturday. Hours later, he added in another tweet: "Who you think created cancel culture?"

West's Instagram account was restricted Friday night after he posted a screenshot of text messages with Sean Combs, also known as P. Diddy, stemming from his controversial "White Lives Matter" shirt at Paris Fashion Week last Monday and a feud with Tremaine Emory over comments about the late Virgil Abloh.

A Twitter spokesperson confirmed to UPI on Sunday that West has now also been locked out of his account on that platform as well.

In the since-deleted messages with Combs, Diddy asked West to "stop playing these internet games" to which West responded that he would use Combs as "an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me."

West, in a now-deleted tweet, also said after the restriction he "can't be anti-Semitic" because "Black people are actually Jew also."

"You guys have toyed with me and tried to blackball anyone whoever opposes your agenda," West said.

West, who seemingly most recently tweeted in November 2020, returned to the platform Friday after he was restricted on Instagram.

"Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!" Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla who is seeking to acquire the platform, tweeted at the rapper.

Facebook has not restricted West.

West went on a rant during an interview with right-wing commentator Tucker Carlson on his Fox News program on Thursday in which he doubled down on his "White Lives Matter" shirt, called the promotion of obesity "genocide of the Black race" and criticized his ex-wife, Kim Kardashian.

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