Tipsheet

Why Elon Had to Suspend Kanye West's Twitter Account

Matt Vespa
Matt Vespa  |  December 02, 2022 6:35 PM

When you gush over Adolf Hitler and the Nazis, you will increase your chances of getting your Twitter account suspended. Kanye West went on Alex Jones’ program, expounding on his affinity for the far-right genocidal party responsible for one of history’s most heinous crimes against humanity. It was a segment bound to go off the rails, and it did. Yet, West then tweeted a picture of a swastika, which forced Elon Musk’s hand. What’s supremely annoying about the move is that this would be welcomed if the old Twitter regime was still employed, but because it’s Elon, the concern trolling could reach a fever pitch. It’s lightly seasoned in NBC News’ coverage of the event (via NBC News) [emphasis mine]:

After making antisemitic comments and praising Hitler on Thursday, the rapper Ye has been suspended from Twitter. 

The account for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, read as "account suspended" early Friday. 

Twitter owner Elon Musk said it would be suspended after a post on Ye's account Thursday night showed an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. The post was then blocked by Twitter for violating its rules. 

Musk wrote on the platform that the suspension was "for incitement to violence." The length of the suspension was not immediately clear. 

Ye's suspension comes around a month after the multibillionaire Musk, who has described himself as a “free speech absolutist," bought Twitter for $44 billion.

‘Elon was supposed to be a free speech absolutist.’

Yes, he is—but to a point, you morons. Twitter is a business; no one will use it if it becomes the Wild West. The issue was that people were getting suspended and banned, not for Swastika posts, but for posting things that shredded liberal narratives, made Joe Biden look bad, or worse—imperiled his election chances. That’s censorship, not free speech, which the Left has become disturbingly opposed to in recent years.

What’s more important, however, is Elon’s unveiling of the Twitter memos about the Hunter Biden story, the actual 2020 October Surprise which could have impacted the race.