Elon Musk suspends Kanye West’s account for breaking Twitter rules

Elon Musk has suspended Kanye West’s (aka Ye) Twitter account for posting antisemitic tweets and violating the site’s terms of service. Musk clarified in a response to Mega founder Kim Dotcom that Ye’s account was suspended for “incitement to violence” and not because he posted a “unflattering” photo of the Tesla CEO.

West went on a tweeting spree earlier today and posted a picture of a Nazi Swastika fused with the Star of David. Subsequently, he announced on Truth Social that his Twitter account had been temporarily disabled. Musk later clarified that he “did his best” to persuade West to adhere to Twitter’s rules, but the rapper continued to post content that violated Twitter’s rule against inciting violence, resulting in a suspension.

This is not West’s first offense against Twitter’s rules. His account was temporarily suspended in October for posting antisemitic material. However, he does not appear to learn his lesson.

West has dominated news coverage since last night, when he appeared on Alex Jones’ Infowars and praised Hitler. Following this appearance, the House Judiciary Republicans deleted their tweet from October 6 that read “Kanye West. Elon Musk. Donald Trump.”

Soon after, social network Parler announced that Ye would not be purchasing the company.

“Parlement Technologies has confirmed that the company and Ye have mutually agreed to cancel the sale of Parler,” according to the statement. Ye and the company reached an agreement in October for the rapper to purchase the social network for an undisclosed amount.

This week, Twitter published a blog post stating that it is committed to healthy conversation under “Twitter 2.0” and that the platform’s policies have not changed. However, the company has changed multiple policies regarding account verification and a waiting period for new accounts attempting to purchase a Twitter Blue subscription. Musk also provided a “general amnesty” to previously suspended accounts based on the results of a survey.

In October, the new Twitter owner promised a “content moderation council” with “widely diverse viewpoints” in relation to the company’s overall moderation policy. There have been no developments since then on this front. Musk has frequently referred to being a “free-speech absolutist” and making Twitter a “public town square,” but the only policy he has repeatedly mentioned is suspending violently inciting accounts.