Troll of the Month – Kanye West
The Troll of the Month is an individual chosen every month to expose racist and anti-religious haters and to portray what can be done in response to fight against intolerance in Europe.
Kanye West who recently changed his official name to "Ye", is a hip hop artist, record producer, and fashion designer who recently shared controversial racist and antisemitic stereotypes on his social media platforms.
Ye posted on Instagram a screenshot of a message sent to his rapper friend Sean "Diddy" Combs, "Ima uses you as an example to show the Jewish people that told you to call me that no one can threaten or influence me. I told you this was war."
Instagram promptly reacted to this violation of its policies by restricting Ye's account.
After noticing the restriction, the rapper switched to Twitter to carry on with his hate speech – posting more antisemitic tropes. He wrote: "When I wake up, I'm going death [sic] con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE. The funny thing is I can't be Anti-Semitic because black people are actually Jew also. You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone opposes your agenda."
Twitter also restricted his account immediately after detecting his demonising statements about the Jewish Community. The posts referred to the old antisemitic trope that a secret cabal of Jewish elites control the world, as well as the Media and recording Industry.
Ye's outrageous acts were condemned by the Anti-Defamation League and Jewish Organisations worldwide as a hate statement.
What is the meaning of White Lives Matter?
This is not the first time that Kanye West has shared globally viral, offensive posts about Race, such as the inhuman claims that slavery in the US "sounds like a choice".
Recently the fashion designer made a controversial appearance at Paris Fashion week during the showcase of the Yeezy fashion season 9 collection. Before the show, Ye and conservative activist Candace Owens appeared wearing "White Lives Matter" T-Shirts featuring the face of Pope John Paul II on the Front.
The Hip Hop artist Diddy, who considered Kanye West a "freethinker", also condemned him for the racist t-shirt debut and said in a video posted on Instagram: Diddy said:
"Right now, all America has planned for us is poverty, incarceration, and death," Diddy added. "So, before I can get to any other lives matter – which all lives matter – but that Black Lives Matter, don't play with it. Don't wear the shirt. Don't buy the shirt. Don't play with the shirt. It's not a joke."
According to the organisation, Hope not Hate, White Lives Matter is considered a far-right group. White Lives Matter is a racist movement that appeared in 2015 as a response to the social justice movement Black Lives Matter, an organisation born from the protests against police brutality in the USA. The term White Lives Matter is used by several far-right groups, including white supremacists known as Ku Klux Klan.
The group found its way to England and was adopted by far-right politicians such as the Anti-Muslim politician Anne Marie Waters.
The White Lives Matter movement expanded in 2020, after the horrific murder of George Floyd. The pro-white movement uses the dangerous narrative and conspiracy theory that white people are subjected to genocide and describes Black people as a threat to Western values.
The Black Lives Matter movement does not stand for denigration, but for making a human stand, to remind society about the daily systemic racism and injustices faced by Black communities every day. Plighting that White Lives Matter diminishes the daily struggles of people of colour and perpetuates structural racism.
Besides his scepticism and claims that Black Lives Matter is a "scam", the rapper spread inflammatory misinformation and lies in a conversation on the podcast Drink Champs discussing George Floyd's Murder and told the hosts that: "They hit [Floyd] with the fentanyl. If you look, the guy's knee wasn't even on his neck like that. Due to his insensitive statements, George Floyd’s family sue the rapper for $250,000,000’ for defamation, harassment and causing profound emotional distress.
After the backlash on social media restricting Kanye West's accounts, he agrees to buy the far-right social network Parler a 'Free speech" competitor of Twitter. This social media platform advocates for "Freedom of Speech" and is well-known among conservative groups. Parler was removed from the market in 2021 after the shocking US capitol riots in January 2021, incited by Donald Trump's hate speech propaganda after losing the general elections to Joe Biden.
Although Kanye West is a Black man, he uses his power, class, and privileges to diminish the life-threatening realities of people of colour. He is a billionaire influencer that feeds hate speech to millions of followers, including far-right groups, who will use racial microaggressions to continue to spread hate and violence against the Black and the Jewish communities.
