Kanye West's Twitter, Instagram locked over offensive posts

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Andrew Feinberg

White House Correspondent

Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked because of posts by the rapper, now known legally as Ye, that were widely deemed antisemitic.

A Twitter spokesperson said Sunday that Ye posted a message that violated its policies.

In a tweet sent late Saturday, Ye said he would soon go “death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE,” according to internet archive records. That's an apparent reference to the U.S. military readiness condition scale known as DEFCON.

In the same tweet, which was removed by Twitter, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

Earlier this month, Ye had been criticized for wearing a “White Lives Matter” T-shirt to his collection at Paris Fashion Week.

Rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs posted a video on Instagram saying he didn't 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.

Ye's account on Instagram was locked Friday for policy violations, according to media reports. Spokespeople for Instagram’s parent company, Meta Platforms, didn’t immediately respond to a request to confirm the reports.

Under their policies, the two social networks prohibit the posting of offensive language. Ye's Twitter account is still active but he can’t post until the suspension ends, after an unspecified period.

Ye had returned to Twitter on Saturday following a nearly two-year hiatus, reportedly after Instagram locked his account.

Billionaire Elon Musk, who last week renewed his $44 billion offer to buy Twitter following a monthslong legal battle with the company, greeted Ye's return to the platform before his suspension by tweeting “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend.”

Musk has said he would remake Twitter into a free speech haven and relax restrictions, although it’s impossible to know precisely how he would run the influential network if he were to take over.