Kanye West Back on Twitter as Elon Musk Takes Control of Platform

Rapper Kanye West’s Twitter profile, which was suspended for posting anti-Semitic remarks, appeared to be back up on the platform, a day after billionaire Elon Musk took ownership of the social media company following his $44 billion (nearly Rs. 3,62,300 crore) deal.

The rapper, now known as Ye, was suspended from Twitter and Meta Platforms’ Instagram last month and the platforms removed some of his online posts that users condemned as anti-Semitic.

Twitter did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Ye, who has over 30 million followers on Twitter, has courted controversy in recent months by publicly ending major corporate tie-ups and making outbursts on social media against other celebrities.

On October 8, Musk had tweeted, “Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!” when Ye posted on the platform for the first time in two years after his Instagram account was restricted.

Musk took ownership of Twitter with brutal efficiency on Thursday, firing top executives but providing little clarity over how he will achieve the ambitions he has outlined for the influential social media platform.

Musk, also the Tesla CEO and a self-described free speech absolutist, has laid out goals to prevent the platform from becoming an echo chamber for hate and division.

He has also said he would reverse Twitter’s ban on former US President Donald Trump, whose account was removed after the attack on the US Capitol. Trump on Friday said he was happy Twitter was in “sane hands.”

Earlier in October, Ye agreed in principle to buy Parler, the social media platform popular among US conservatives.

Musk, soon after the takeover, fired Chief Executive Parag Agrawal, Chief Financial Officer Ned Segal and legal affairs and policy chief Vijaya Gadde, according to people familiar with the matter. He had accused them of misleading him and Twitter investors over the number of fake accounts on the platform.

© Thomson Reuters 2022