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After making antisemitic comments and praising Hitler on Thursday, the rapper Ye has been suspended from Twitter. The account for Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, read as "account suspended" early Friday. Twitter owner Elon Musk said it would be suspended after a post on Ye's account Thursday night showed an image that appeared to show a swastika inside a Star of David. Account will be suspended.”Ye's Twitter account has been restricted before over antisemitic comments, but he returned to the platform in November. To the now blocked post featuring the Star of David, Musk wrote: “This is not.”

☆ Elon Musk has kicked Kanye West off Twitter: 'He again violated our rule against incitement to violence'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Ye, the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, has been suspended from Twitter. Account will be suspended," Musk tweeted on Thursday night. This is not love," Musk texted Ye in response to the image, according to a screenshot of their conversation Ye shared on Twitter before his suspension. Included in that text exchange was a screenshot from Ye's Twitter account that indicated he'd been put in a 12-hour Twitter timeout. Ye and Musk have tangled on Twitter ever since Musk welcomed Ye back to Twitter on November 20.

Jones filed for Chapter 11 protection from creditors with the U.S. bankruptcy court in Houston, a court filing showed. The filing said Jones has between $1 million and $10 million of assets and between $1 billion and $10 billion of liabilities. In October, a Connecticut jury in a case brought by relatives of more than a dozen Sandy Hook victims ordered Jones and Free Speech Systems, the parent company of Infowars, to pay nearly $1 billion in damages. Jones claimed for years that the 2012 killing of 20 students and six staff members at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged with actors as part of a government plot to seize Americans’ guns. In addition to the $1 billion compensatory damages, Jones was ordered to pay $473 million in punitive damages in the Connecticut case.

☆ Alex Jones files for bankruptcy protection, lists Sandy Hook families as creditors
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Dan Mangan | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

Alex Jones arrives at the court house as he faces a second defamation trial over Sandy Hook claims in Waterbury, Connecticut, September 22, 2022. Jones filed a voluntary petition under Chapter 11 in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas, court records show. An attorney for the Sandy Hook families told CNBC in an email, "Like every other cowardly move Alex Jones has made, this bankruptcy will not work." A Connecticut jury in October ordered Jones to pay nearly $1 billion in damages to Sandy Hook relatives. Relatives of Sandy Hook victims have said the harassment they received on the heels of the shooting by people who believed the massacre was a hoax has continued until this year.

☆ Hate speech dramatically surges on Twitter following Elon Musk takeover, new research shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Oliver Darcy | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN Business —New Twitter owner Elon Musk declared last month that “hate speech impressions” had dramatically fallen on the platform since he took over. It was a remarkable claim, given that Musk has executed mass layoffs and chased away hundreds of employees, draining the company of much-needed resources to enforce content moderation policies, which the billionaire has also publicly criticized. On Friday, two watchdog groups published research that indicated Musk’s claim simply did not hold water, offering one of the clearest pictures to date of the surging tide of hate speech on the platform. The Center for Countering Digital Hate and Anti-Defamation League both said in reports that the volume of hate speech on Twitter has grown dramatically under Musk’s stewardship. Specifically, the Center for Countering Digital Hate said the daily use of the n-word under Musk is triple the 2022 average and the use of slurs against gay men and trans persons are up 58% and 62%, respectively.

☆ In the wake of Kanye West's praise for Hitler, Biden calls on political leaders to condemn anti-Semitism: 'Silence is complicity'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Nicole Gaudiano | Kimberly Leonard | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

President Joe Biden targeted antisemitism on Friday after Kanye West, known as Ye, praised Hitler. Hitler was a demonic figure," Biden tweeted from his presidential account and retweeted from his political account. "And instead of giving it a platform, our political leaders should be calling out and rejecting antisemitism wherever it hides. Ye's Twitter account was restricted for two weeks in October after he posted antisemitic remarks, but his account was restored after Musk took control of the platform. "I like Hitler," Ye said at one point, adding, "I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis."

☆ House Judiciary GOP cites 'repulsive comments' in deleting pro-Kanye West tweet on Thursday, despite rapper's weeks of anti-Semitic rants
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Bryan Metzger | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

A Twitter account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee deleted a pro-Kanye West tweet. "We deleted the tweet because of Mr. West's repulsive comments," a Judiciary spokesperson told Insider on Friday. In October, the Twitter account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee expressed solidarity with Kanye West. Screenshot/TwitterThe House Judiciary GOP Twitter account regularly posts attention-grabbing messages trolling Democrats and amplifying Republican talking points. "Well, I see good things about Hitler," Ye said.

☆ Biden condemns antisemitism as Ye praises Hitler days after dinner with Trump, white nationalist Fuentes
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Emma Kinery | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

President Joe Biden denounced antisemitism and took a veiled jab at Donald Trump days after the former president dined with rapper Ye, who has made a string of recent antisemitic comments, and white nationalist Nick Fuentes. Trump, the presumptive frontrunner for the 2024 GOP presidential nomination, had dinner last week with Ye and Fuentes at his Mar-a-Lago club, sparking widespread condemnation. "I love Jewish people, but I also love Nazis," Ye told Jones on the show, also praising what he considered Hitler's contributions to society. Trump has not yet condemned the men he had dinner with at Mar-a-Lago, and he claimed not to know who the white nationalist Fuentes was. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., told Politico he hopes Trump will condemn Fuentes "because I know [Trump's] not an antisemite.

☆ Alex Jones has filed for personal bankruptcy
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-02 | by ( Samantha Beech | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: 1 min

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In an hourslong interview with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, the rapper Ye praised Hitler, made antisemitic jokes and talked about his recent meeting with former President Donald Trump. During the livestreamed exchange, Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, repeatedly referred to antisemitic stereotypes, made antisemitic jokes and praised Hitler. In the wake of the interview, Ye received criticism from former friends, supporters and collaborators. When Pool began pushing back against Ye’s antisemitic statements, Ye walked away from the interview. In Jones’ broadcast, Ye was allowed to freely make antisemitic statements alongside Fuentes with little questioning from Jones, who at times said that he himself was not antisemitic.

Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee deleted their Oct. 6 tweet that appeared supportive of Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, after months of controversy over the rapper's antisemitic remarks. House Judiciary Committee Republicans did not immediately return a request for comment about the deleted tweet. A now-deleted Tweet from the House Judiciary GOP. He told NBC News that it was incumbent upon not just Republicans, but "the entire nation" to condemn Ye's remarks. The day after the tweet by the House Judiciary Committee Republicans, Ye posted a since-deleted post on Instagram where he said he would go "death con 3" on Jewish people.

☆ Kanye West is no longer buying right-wing social media company Parler, company says
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Kanye West will no longer be buying social media platform Parler, the company said Thursday. In October, Parler said West was buying the site to help create "an uncancelable ecosystem." download the app Email address By clicking ‘Sign up’, you agree to receive marketing emails from Insider as well as other partner offers and accept our Terms of Service and Privacy PolicyOn the day that Kanye West praised the fascist dictator of Nazi Germany, the right-wing social media company Parler revealed that the rapper will no longer be purchasing the company. But after his appearance Thursday on Alex Jones' Infowars, during which West repeatedly praised Adolf Hitler, Parlement Technologies announced the deal was off — and claimed that it had been for some time. "In response to numerous media inquiries, Parlement Technologies would like to confirm that the company has mutually agreed with Ye to terminate the intent of sale of Parler," the company said in a statement posted on Twitter.

☆ House Republicans' 'Kanye. Elon. Trump.' tweet deleted during interview where rapper told Alex Jones: 'I like Hitler'
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-01 | by ( Charles R. Davis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Kanye West praised Adolf Hitler in a Thursday appearance on a far-right conspiracy theorist's show. On Twitter, the GOP House Judiciary account deleted an October post that said: "Kanye. In October, the Twitter account for GOP members of the House Judiciary Committee was all-in on the man who now goes by Ye, posting: "Kanye. In October, the Twitter account for Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee expressed solidarity with Kanye West. A spokesperson for Rep. Jim Jordan, the Ohio Republican who is currently the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, did not respond to a request for comment.

☆ Kanye West, newly reinstated to Twitter, calls out 'free speech absolutist' Elon Musk for not also reinstating Alex Jones
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-27 | by ( Taiyler Simone Mitchell | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Twitter owner Elon Musk has reinstated several controversial accounts, including Kanye West's. But West called him out for not reinstating conspiracy theorist Alex Jones' account. Ye, formerly known as Kanye West, said he has an "issue" with Musk for not reinstating InfoWars host Alex Jones, according to a 30-second video clip with watermarks that read "@Ali" and "BANNED.VIDEO." West continued: "Alex Jones is a Christian. But Musk has not budged on reinstating right-wing conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones, even quoting Matthew 19:14, a bible verse, in a tweet referencing him.

☆ Mike Lindell says he'll drop 'everything' and fly to lobby Elon Musk in person to unban him from Twitter
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Cheryl Teh | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Mike Lindell wants to sit down for an ask-me-anything with Elon Musk. He told Insider that he wants to show Musk "evidence" that could reverse his Twitter ban. Lindell also told Steve Bannon that if Musk wants free speech on Twitter, he should be let back on. Everyone's got their Twitters back and so on," Lindell told Bannon. "I want to show him the evidence of why Twitter kicked me off," Lindell told Insider.

☆ Alex Jones transferred millions from his InfoWars parent company to entities controlled by friends and family ahead of billion dollar damage awards in Sandy Hook cases, WaPo reports
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( Katherine Tangalakis-Lippert | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

WaPo reported Alex Jones transferred millions from InfoWars' parent company ahead of its bankruptcy. Jones was ordered to pay nearly $1.5 billion in damages related to lies he spread about Sandy Hook. "In the middle of this lawsuit, they started documenting debts that had no evidence of existing beforehand," Sandy Hook attorney Avi Moshenberg told the Post. Jones' lies about the Sandy Hook shooting have spread pervasively since he began amplifying conspiracy theories that the shooting was faked and the victims' families were crisis actors. Representatives for Jones and Raymond Battaglia, a lawyer for Free Speech Systems, did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

Briana Sanchez/Pool via REUTERS/File PhotoDALLAS, Nov 22 (Reuters) - Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on Tuesday failed in his bid to slash a nearly $50 million defamation verdict against him over his false claims that the 2012 Sandy Hook mass shooting was a hoax. The judge in that case tacked on an additional $473 million in punitive damages for Jones’ “cruel” conduct earlier this month. Evidence in both cases showed that bogus Sandy Hook claims turbocharged traffic to Infowars and drove sales of its products, including supplements and doomsday supplies. The Sandy Hook families have intervened in the case, alleging Jones is using the proceedings to shield his assets and avoid paying. Another defamation lawsuit against Jones brought by Sandy Hook parents is set to go to trial in Austin, Texas, in March.

☆ As Amazon's Alexa unit faces layoffs, insiders describe a department in crisis
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Jordan Parker Erb | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

Today, we're taking a look inside the rise and fall of Amazon's Alexa unit, and detailing more potential layoffs at Twitter, so we're not off to a great start — but let's keep our fingers crossed. Employees took us inside Amazon's floundering Alexa unit. With Amazon's Alexa — and the devices team at large — the prime target of the biggest layoffs in the company's history, Insider's Eugene Kim spoke with more than a dozen employees to understand the current state of the unit. Employees told Insider a combination of low morale, failed monetization attempts, and lack of engagement across users and developers made them feel as though the team was deadlocked over the last few years. Here's everything employees told us.

☆ Twitter won't restore Alex Jones' account, Musk says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Brian Fung | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +3 min

Washington CNN Business —Conspiracy theorist Alex Jones won’t be returning to Twitter and will remain banned from the platform, according to its new owner, Elon Musk. Musk declared on Friday that Jones’ account will not be restored, in spite of some users’ requests, and spent the weekend defending the decision even as Twitter moved to restore other suspended accounts including that of former President Donald Trump. “No,” Musk tweeted flatly in response to one user’s call for Jones to be reinstated on Twitter. “Don’t blame Musk at the end of the day because he didn’t bring me back,” Jones urged his followers. On Nov. 9, Musk told advertisers during a Twitter Spaces event that it could be months before the council meets for the first time.

☆ Elon Musk referenced the Bible and said he won't allow Sandy Hook conspiracy theorist Alex Jones back on Twitter on the same day he reinstated Trump's account
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-21 | by ( Sawdah Bhaimiya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +3 min

Elon Musk said he won't restore conspiracy theorist radio host Alex Jones' Twitter account. Musk recently reinstated formerly banned accounts like Donald Trump, Kanye West, and Andrew Tate. The billionaire CEO of Twitter responded to a tweet by American philosopher Sam Harris on Saturday, who asked: "Is it time to let Alex Jones back on Twitter, Elon Musk? Musk had already said "No" on Friday to one user who had tweeted "Bring back Alex Jones!!!!" Musk reinstated Trump's account on Saturday after polling followers about whether he should be allowed to return to the platform.

☆ Elon Musk encourages Twitter engineers to fly in for in-person meetings
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Hyunjoo Jin | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

Twitter told employees on Thursday that it would close its offices and cut badge access until Monday, according to two sources. In his first email to Twitter employees this month, Musk warned that Twitter may not be able to "survive the upcoming economic downturn." When a Twitter user asked Musk to reinstate conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, Musk replied with a curt "no." "There will be short, technical interviews that allow me to better understand the Twitter tech stack," Musk wrote in one of the emails. Musk wrote on Twitter late on Thursday that he was not worried about resignations as "the best people are staying."

☆ Elon Musk polls Twitter: Reinstate Trump?
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-19 | by ( Erin Snodgrass | Kelsey Vlamis | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Amid his chaotic takeover, Elon Musk polled Twitter users on whether to reinstate Trump's account. Twitter banned Trump in January 2021 following the Capitol riot, citing "the risk of further incitement of violence." Musk in May said he would reinstate Trump's account following his acquisition of the company, calling the decision to ban the former president "morally wrong and flat out stupid." Trump has said he won't return to Twitter even if his account is reinstated, saying he prefers his own platform, Truth Social. I like it better, I like the way it works, I like Elon, but I'm staying on Truth," Trump told Fox News last month.

☆ Elon Musk says no decision yet on Trump's Twitter ban as he reinstates others
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( David Ingram | David Ingram Covers Tech For Nbc News. | ) www.nbcnews.com time to read: +3 min

Twitter CEO Elon Musk said Friday he was bringing back three high-profile accounts that had been suspended for breaking the service's rules, but he said he hadn't made a decision about former President Donald Trump's account. "Trump decision has not yet been made," Musk said in a tweet, as Twitter users braced for sweeping changes on the service that Musk bought three weeks ago. It may be only a matter of time before Musk reinstates Trump. Twitter permanently suspended Trump's account in January 2021, citing his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol and the potential for more violence. It was not clear if Musk had made any changes to Twitter's policies that ban hate speech and harassment.

☆ Elon Musk changes his tune on letting Donald Trump back on Twitter, says 'decision has not yet been made'
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Tim Levin | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk isn't sure whether he'll reinstate former President Donald Trump's Twitter account. As for Trump, the "decision has not been made," Musk said. In May, he told the Financial Times he would "reverse the permaban" on the former president's account, calling the original Twitter decision "morally wrong and flat-out stupid." Musk said the ban "ultimately did not result in Donald Trump not having a voice," since he moved communication to Truth Social, his Twitter-like social media company. Twitter booted Trump from its site following the January 6, 2021 riot on the US Capitol, citing the "risk of further incitement of violence."

☆ Elon Musk reinstated some banned Twitter accounts, but he drew the line at extremists like Alex Jones
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-18 | by ( Samantha Delouya | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

Elon Musk once described himself as a "free speech absolutist" and has brought back some banned Twitter accounts. But Musk drew the line at right-wing conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook denier Alex Jones. Musk has been confronted with the fact that Twitter relies on ads for revenue, and unsafe content could put the business at risk. Jones, a right-wing conspiracy theorist and Sandy Hook school-shooting denier was permanently banned from Twitter in 2018 for "abusive behavior." Musk's initial vision of an entirely "free speech platform" has come up against the realities of running Twitter as a profitable business.

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