X, previously known as Twitter, has reinstated the account of Kanye West, who legally goes by the name Ye. The rapper-producer was previously banned for posting an image merging the symbols of Swastika and the Star of David, alongside a series of antisemitic comments, which violated the platform’s regulations.
The ban was imposed last December, several months after Elon Musk took over the platform. Despite Ye also sharing an unflattering image of Musk, the Tesla CEO clarified that this was not the reason for Ye’s ban.
However, as reported by the Wall Street Journal over the weekend, Ye’s restored account comes with restrictions. He will not be eligible for monetization, and ads will not be displayed alongside his posts. This follows X’s recent roll-out of an ad revenue-sharing program with global creators. To qualify for this program, creators must have at least 500 followers and accumulate 15 million impressions over the previous three months.
Since the account’s reinstatement, Ye has yet to make any posts. However, according to an unnamed source cited by the WSJ, his account was only restored after Ye promised not to post antisemitic content or use hateful language.
Elon Musk, who self-identifies as a “free-speech absolutist”, has made a series of controversial decisions about reinstating certain accounts since his takeover of Twitter. This includes the accounts of former U.S. President Donald Trump, far-right influencer Andrew Tate, who was previously banned for misogynistic comments, right-wing academic Jordan Peterson, and most recently, Dominick McGee, who was criticized for posting an image related to child sexual abuse.
