Kanye West: what did he say about Jewish people in tweet, is he banned from Instagram - death con meaning

Kanye West’s Twitter and Instagram accounts have been locked due to alleged anti-Semitic posts by the artist, now legally known as “Ye”.

On Sunday (9 October), Instagram parent company Meta and Twitter spokespeople confirmed Ye sent statements that violated their regulations.

It’s not the first time West has come under fire for his social media outbursts, and it likely won’t be the last. But what exactly did the rapper say, and why did he make the posts in the first place?

Here is everything you need to know about it.

What did Kanye West say?

According to internet archive records, West posted a tweet late on Saturday (8 October) which said he would go "death con 3 on JEWISH PEOPLE," an apparent allusion to the US military preparedness condition scale known as Defcon.

“I’m a bit sleepy tonight but when I wake up I’m going death con 3 On JEWISH PEOPLE,” he said. “The funny thing is I actually can’t be Anti Semitic because black people are actually Jew also.”

Defcon 3 is the middle of the five levels, and signifies an increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness. At this level, the Air Force must be ready to mobilise in 15 minutes.

The current alert level for the US military is Defcon 4, which orders an increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures, and requires the armed forces be above their normal readiness.

In the same message, which Twitter removed, he said: “You guys have toyed with me and tried to black ball anyone whoever opposes your agenda.”

According to media reports, West posted a screenshot of a text exchange with rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs on Instagram, implying that he was under the control of Jewish people.

Earlier this month, Diddy posted a video on Instagram criticising a “White Live Matter” shirt, which West had been seen wearing to his collection at Paris Fashion Week, and urging people not to buy it.

The two social networks’ regulations restrict the publishing of offensive and hateful speech. West’s Twitter account remains online, but he will be unable to post until the indefinite suspension is lifted.

Meta, which owns both Facebook and Instagram, sometimes limits accounts that it believes violate its policies on a regular basis. Such sanctions may include temporary bans on publishing, commenting or sending direct messages.

West returned to Twitter on Saturday (8 October) after an almost two-year absence, apparently triggered by Instagram locking his account.

Is he OK?

It’s not the first time West has been denied access to his Instagram account: in March, his account was temporarily locked following online attacks on SNL comedian Pete Davidson, who was dating West’s ex-wife Kim Kardashian at the time.

The rapper had taken to Instagram with a series of erratic posts, some of which took direct aim at Davidson; in another, he reportedly also posted a racial slur aimed at The Daily Show host, Trevor Noah.

Content from the account was deleted for violating the company’s policies on hate speech and bullying, and West was unable to post, comment or send direct messages for 24 hours after violating the site’s policies.

West’s erratic behaviour and the state of his mental health has been a subject of much debate and discussion for a number of years.

In 2016, he was admitted to a Los Angeles medical centre with hallucinations and paranoia - contrary to reports at the time, it was later revealed he was not taken there voluntarily, but was persuaded by authorities.

While the episode was first described as "temporary psychosis" caused by dehydration and sleep deprivation, West’s mental state was abnormal enough that his insurance policy reimbursed his 21 cancelled shows.

In a 2019 interview with David Letterman, West stated that he has bipolar disorder. Bipolar disorder is a mental health condition that shows itself through significant mood swings.

Those diagnosed with the condition have episodes of manic highs and depressive lows. There is also the possibility of some psychotic symptoms during manic or depressed episodes.