After the atrocities in October 2023, a shocked world condemned Hamas’s actions. A robust response from Israel was clearly deemed appropriate to challenge the terror regime and prevent its ability to attack again. The continued shelling of Gaza, as well as other controversial retaliatory measures, dangerous comments and lack of transparency, caused a turnaround among many people who observed how Tens of thousands of innocent Palestinians were killed. Among the dissenting voices was Bassem Youssef, whose social media account on Elon Musk’s X (formerly Twitter) has since been blocked.

Elon Musk’s view on free speech at X

When the richest person in the world – except for a few moments when other multi-billionaires take over – bought Twitter, he made it a point to promote free speech and remove bots. The latter promise was certainly not kept, and users complain daily about the abundance of fake users spreading propaganda. And as for the former, some say it depends on posture and reach.

Former President and Republican candidate for the 2024 elections, Donald Trump had been removed from Twitter in its previous ownership structure in part because of the dangerous misinformation he spread. Musk returned his account even though Trump had set up his own platform, ironically called Truth Social. So why would Youssef have been banned given his obvious outspokenness?

The account @byouseff no longer exists and this This is apparently due to the comedian and actor’s attitude towards Israel’s alleged war crimes. In addition to his social media appearances, Youssef has also appeared on various talk shows, including Piers Morgan’s, whose clips quickly went viral.

It’s worth noting that Musk has previously warned that certain phrases are not allowed on his platform, including “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” and also “decolonization,” as he believes they “imply genocide.” Youssef’s latest post, based on what users who saw it before the account was closed, was said to have criticized the use of the term “anti-Semitism” as a weapon, arguing that it was a “fear tactic” to “shut down conversations” and “intimidate people.”