Skip to main content

Headline Roundup December 3rd, 2022

Kanye West's Twitter Ban Raises Questions on Combatting Anti-Semitism

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Kanye West has again been suspended from Twitter, this time for tweeting an image that combined the Star of David with a Nazi swastika. This comes after West appeared on Alex Jones’ show, InfoWars, where he expressed his admiration for Nazi leader Adolf Hitler while stating “the Holocaust is not what happened.” West’s statements and his suspension from Twitter are again raising questions of how to properly handle hate-speech and bigotry in the digital age.

Key Quotes: Some writers are questioning the effectiveness of deplatforming on account of beliefs. Brad Polumbo wrote that "we can't make antisemitism, hate, and conspiracies disappear by ignoring them or attempting to silence their proponents. But we can defeat them by ridiculing and debunking them in the public square." Alan Dershowitz (Lean Right Bias) analyzed the issue from a legal perspective, determining that "although I find West's juxtaposition of the Star of David and the Swastika beneath contempt, I do not believe it should have been censored by Twitter."

A writer in The Atlantic tied West's statements to a rise in anti-Semitism, determining that "a civilized society minimizes such ideas not just because they are displeasing but because they get people killed." Darvio Morrow (Not Rated) reflected on the historic relationship of black and Jewish Americans, stating, "2022 has not been a great year for Black and Jewish relations in America," adding, "we have to remember that there are more things that unite us than divide us."

Featured Coverage of this Story

From the Left
Kanye West Finally Says What He Means
Kanye West Finally Says What He Means

Ronald Martinez / Getty

Opinion

What was your line with Kanye West? If you never listened to what he had to say in the first place, you don’t get a medal: The rapper now known as Ye really did, at one time, merit attention for making some of the most forward-thinking art of this century. (Plus he was funny, in an actually-trying-to-be way.)

But over the years he’s done plenty of things that indicate he is a fundamentally bad dude, like when he went on the radio to slut-shame his ex, or when he told...

Open on The Atlantic
Possible Paywall
From the Center
Kanye West Twitter ban: A timeline of the rapper's downfall
Kanye West Twitter ban: A timeline of the rapper's downfall

Getty Images

Analysis

Kanye West has never been afraid to upset people, but his recent tirades against Jewish people have been too much for many.

At the start of October, he was a billionaire music artist and businessman, and had deals with some of the world's biggest brands.

Fast-forward just two months, and most of those no longer apply.

And it all started with a T-shirt.

At his Yeezy SZN 9 show, Kanye, now officially known as Ye, wears a t-shirt with a White Lives Matter slogan.

Anti-racism campaigners call it out as...

Open on BBC News
From the Right
Kanye's Downfall Shows Why Free Speech Works
Kanye's Downfall Shows Why Free Speech Works

MEGA/GC Images

Opinion

Well, that didn't take long. In just a few weeks, Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, has gone from potential Republican superstar to a completely disgraced antisemitic lunatic.

Kanye's fall from grace hit its nadir on Thursday during a stranger-than-fiction interview he did on InfoWars with far-right conspiracy theorist Alex Jones. Ye said, and this is a direct quote, "I like Hitler."

"I like Hitler," Ye expounded. "The Holocaust is not what happened. Let's look at the facts of that. Hitler has a lot of redeeming qualities."

It...

Open on Brad Polumbo
Possible Paywall

More headline roundups

More News about Free Speech on AllSides

News from the Left

News from the Center

News from the Right