Egyptian-American Comedian Bassem Youssef’s X (Twitter) Account Suspended Over Palestinian Advocacy
Bassem Youssef removed X on Monday, stating that issues related to his family’s safety were the core factor behind his logout from the site.
The absence of Youssef’s account angered his followers, and his supporters blamed X for suspending the Egyptian-American comedian for supporting Palestine. Many fans saved a screenshot of his last tweet before the closure of his account, in which Youssef spoke against equating anti-Zionism with antisemitism and against the harassment of people advocating for Palestine.
Once, ‘antisemitism’ was a term that could chill people to the bone. Today, many are waking up to how this strategy is used to shut down debates and threaten others,” the article quoted Youssef as tweeting before his account was taken down. He questioned whether people still feared being labelled antisemitic by Zionists, adding, “No, I don’t give a shit anymore. Or: Yes, I am still scared. It has been a relapse of my earlier days of shame when I could not speak my mind or proceed with my line of work without immense expectations of opposition from my seniors or even colleagues.
That is why Youssef’s account disappeared shortly after this tweet: Many people believed that despite being owned by an influential supporter of free speech, Elon Musk, the platform suppressed opinions it considered pro-Israel. Ahmed Algohbary, a journalist from Yemen, wrote, ‘The Twitter account of Bassem Youssef @X has been deactivated! Where is the free speech, Elon Musk?’
But, in a follow-up on Instagram, Youssef quickly stated that he was the one who decided to delete the account. It was not in any way, shape or form due to the influence of X. ‘No, X did not hack my X account, and I do not want to stage a victimisation with this,’ he posted. ‘When issues relating to the safety of my loved ones are sorted out, I may probably come back’, so I want to sort this out of the media. ”
Youssef did not elaborate on the specific threats he received that made him quit the platform in particular nature.
Before shutting down his account, Youssef said that his Palestine advocacy led to measly consequences. To know you are pissing off Zionists when they are crying, whining, bitching on your timeline, and all they can do is cry wolf. .aka uses the term antisemitic for everything because they have nothing else to say, he posted. Others say, ‘Go guilt trip someone else. Your methods are getting old and boring. ’
Youssef, who is one of the most popular public personalities in the MENA region, has supported the rights of the Palestinians recently after the Israeli military attack on the Gaza Strip in which more than forty thousand Palestinians have been killed since October 7. He started receiving prominent media coverage for criticising Israelis after his stint with Piers Morgan last October.
