Photo: Randall Hill / reuters
‘Following assurances that West won’t spread antisemitic or harmful content, it reportedly made the decision.’
According to The Wall Street Journal, X (previously known as Twitter) has allowed Kanye West back onto the platform. West had been banned last December for posting an image of a swastika. However, X only reinstated his account after receiving assurances that he would not share any harmful or antisemitic content. Additionally, West’s posts will not have ads next to them and he will not be able to make money off of his account.
There have been several incidents involving Kanye and Twitter/X. In October, he returned to the platform after a two-year hiatus but was banned again shortly after for making inappropriate comments about Jewish people. He then attempted to acquire the social media app Parler, which promotes “free speech,” but the deal fell through. Kanye has faced consequences for his past remarks, including losing partnerships with major brands such as Adidas and Gap.
Last fall, Elon Musk acquired Twitter and, as a self-proclaimed “free-speech absolutist,” promised to review permanent bans made in accordance with site policy unless they violated the law. He has since reinstated the accounts of several controversial figures, including former president Donald Trump (who has yet to tweet) and known neo-Nazis. Recently, Israel’s Foreign Ministry accused Musk of contributing to a surge in anti-Semitic content on the platform, citing an abundance of conspiracies and hate speech directed at Jews worldwide.
Recently, there has been news about Musk changing Twitter’s name and logo to X. Additionally, a strobing X sign was placed on the roof of the company’s San Francisco headquarters, and X told the city’s building inspectors that the sign was temporary for an event. Musk tweeted yesterday that X’s HQ would remain in “beautiful” San Francisco, despite the city being in a “death spiral.”