In yet another instalment of decisions-that-seem-destined-to-end-badly, Elon Musk’s X, formerly known as Twitter, has reinstated the account of Kanye West.
West, who now goes by Ye, was suspended last December after posting a series of antisemitic tweets, including an image of a Nazi swastika blended with the Star of David. Musk later shared a post clarifying that the account had been “suspended for incitement to violence”.
Now, seven months after the suspension, it appears X’s owner has changed his mind. Ye’s account, complete with its 31.6 million followers and a little gold verification badge, is back.
Ye’s account won’t show ads, per The Wall Street Journal, and the singer won’t be able to monetize his posts via Musk’s new revenue share scheme. His account was apparently restored under the proviso that he doesn’t post hateful or antisemitic content. At the time of writing he has not yet posted again.
When Musk took over Twitter he quickly started unbanning Twitter accounts, a large number of which belonged to right-wing figures. Last week X banned the account of a right-wing influencer after he allegedly “posted child exploitation pictures,” before reinstating the account again later the same day.
