Conservatives Are Mad Kanye Was Censored for Threatening ‘Death Con 3’ Against Jews
Conservatives are defending rapper Kanye West in the wake of the artist posting multiple antisemitic statement over the weekend — including that he was going to go “death con 3” on “JEWISH PEOPLE” — resulting in a restriction of his Instagram and Twitter accounts.
Following the rebukes, right-wing commentators jumped at the opportunity to rail against the media and platforms enforcing content standards, rather than criticizing West’s antisemitism. “The constant hypocrisy from the media is at an all-time high,” Indiana Attorney General Todd Rioka tweeted on Sunday. “They have now gone after Kanye for his new fashion line, his independent thinking, & for having opposing thoughts from the norm of Hollywood.
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Rioka responded to backlash by claiming he was specifically addressing West’s criticism of the media and that he is “100% supportive of the Jewish community and Israel.”
West’s comments followed a contentious week for the artist. He was lambasted by fans and industry names after displaying “White Lives Matter” shirts at his Paris Fashion Week Yeezy show. He then sat down with Fox News host Tucker Carlson for a two-part interview, and took to social media to bash friends and artists who had reached out to him to express their discomfort with the Fashion Week stunt. In one text exchange posted to Instagram, West told fellow rapper Diddy that he would “show the Jews that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me.” Instagram’s parent company Meta issued a 24-hour suspension as a result.
West also posted to Twitter for the first time since 2020, attacking Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerburg for the ban before posting his plan to attack “JEWISH PEOPLE” late Saturday night. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also,” West wrote.
Tesla billionaire Elon Musk, who is currently embroiled in a litigious battle over his attempt to buy Twitter, had on Friday congratulated West on his return to the platform. Musk has promised to drastically roll back content moderation policies should his bid to acquire the social media platform be finalized.
Rioka was one of several conservatives to bash the media and social media companies following West’s comments. On Fox News, the hosts of Fox & Friends Sunday argued that while West’s remarks were “ugly,” removing them from public debate through “censorship” wouldn’t actually do anything to curb the spread of antisemitism. “Is censorship and silence the appropriate reaction to actually accomplish the goal of a world with less racism and antisemitism?” wondered host Will Cain.
Ironically, some readers appear to have had their comments on articles about West’s antisemitic posts removed from the Fox News website for violating the content policy of the site.
Fox News is removing some comments on its Kanye West story about the "Hollywood" reaction to his "death con 3" remarks about Jewish people. pic.twitter.com/mGuhGZwMwM
— John Whitehouse+ (@existentialfish) October 10, 2022
Fox News did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Rolling Stone.
Others highlighted the bans over the antisemitic remarks that prompted them, characterizing West’s punishment as retaliation for his conservative opinions. “Terrible,” right-wing conspiracy theorist and documentarian Dinseh D’Souza wrote of West being banned for Twitter for saying he was going to go after the Jews. “Twitter dropped the hammer on the famed Trump supporter,” added former Trump White House minion Sebastian Gorka. Pizzagate conspiracy theorist Mike Cernovich dismissed West’s comment as “meta-commentary” that lacked “delicate hands” and said critics of the rapper were motivated by “hate.”
Jason Whitlock of The Blaze tweeted that “Black rappers and comedians are free to denigrate black people and white men a million different ways” and that “there’s a line they better not cross. And everybody knows it.”
When asked what the line is, Whitlock wrote that it’s questioning “black entertainers’ unhealthy relationship with non-religious Jewish power brokers in Hollywood”
You can't question black entertainers' unhealthy relationship with non-religious Jewish power brokers in Hollywood. Is that clear enough for you? https://t.co/tmHrEoaZ0V
— Jason Whitlock (@WhitlockJason) October 10, 2022
Whitlock’s former Blaze colleague Elijah Schaffer, who was recently fired from the company after reports that he sexually harrassed a coworker, wrote that removing posts like Kanye’s “removes healthy public debate” as if a call to go “death con three” on Jewish people is something that merits serious consideration.
The American Jewish Committee doesn’t agree. “Kanye West has had a streak of rants this week that is remarkable even by his standards,” it said in a statement. “If he wants to have any credibility as a commentator on social issues, let alone as a musician, maybe he can start by figuring out how to make a point without fomenting hatred of Jews.”
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