Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been blocked due to posts by the rapper, now legally known as Ye, that were widely considered anti-Semitic.
Spokespeople for Twitter and Instagram parent Meta said Sunday that Ye posted messages that violated its policies.
In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death against 3 the Jewish people,” according to Internet Archive records. This is an apparent reference to the US military readiness scale known as DEFCON.
Tweet downloaded
In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You have played with me and tried to blackball anyone who opposes your agenda.”
Earlier this month, Ye had come under fire for wearing a “White Lives Matter” shirt in his collection at Paris Fashion Week.
Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he did not support the shirt and urged people not to buy it.
On Instagram, Ye posted a screenshot of a text conversation with Diddy and suggested he was controlled by Jewish people, according to media reports.
According to their policies, both social networks prohibit the publication of offensive language. Ye’s Twitter account remains active but cannot post until the suspension ends, after an unspecified period.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, will sometimes place restrictions on accounts that it believes repeatedly violate its rules. Penalties may include temporary restrictions on posting, commenting or sending direct messages.
It’s back after almost 2 years
Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday after a hiatus of almost two years, after Instagram blocked his account.
Billionaire Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who last week renewed his US$44 billion bid to buy Twitter after a months-long legal battle with the company, welcomed Ye’s return to the platform before its suspension by tweeting: “Welcome back to Twitter my friend. .”
Musk has said he would make Twitter a haven for free speech and relax restrictions, though it’s impossible to know precisely how he would run the influential network if he took over.