Twitter, now called X, reinstates Kanye West account

Social media platform X reinstated the account of Ye, the artist formerly known as Kanye West, after it was suspended nearly eight months ago because the rapper had violated the platform’s rules prohibiting incitement to violence.

Ye’s account now shows his last post from December 1, a day prior to when his account was suspended on platform X, the new name owner Elon Musk has given Twitter.Ye will not be eligible to monetise his account on X, and advertisements will not appear next to his posts, The Wall Street Journal reported on Saturday, citing the social media platform.

Ye’s account was suspended in December, just two months after being reinstated, after one of his posts appeared to show a swastika symbol inside a Star of David.

Musk at the time labelled West’s post as an “incitement to violence”.

X reinstated Ye’s account after receiving reassurance that he would not use the platform to share anti-Semitic or otherwise harmful language, the report said, quoting a person familiar with the matter.The social media platform did not immediately respond to the Reuters news agency’s request for comment.

The billionaire owner of X, who calls himself a free speech absolutist, had welcomed the return of the rapper to the platform in October after his account was reinstated for the first time.

Musk had previously reinstated former US President Donald Trump’s account after conducting a poll in which some 14.8 million Twitter users had voted, with 51.8 percent voting in favour of the reinstatement. But Trump had said he had no interest in returning to Twitter and would stick with his new platform Truth Social.In May, the German company said the end of its highly successful collaboration with West hit sales by about 400 million euros ($441m) in the first quarter of the year.

Gap and Balenciaga also cut ties with the rapper and designer.