The X-account of popular Egyptian-American comedian Bassem Youssef, who had more than 11 million followers, has been deleted. The link to Youssef’s X-page now reads: “This account does not exist.”
The reason for the deletion of Youssef’s account remains unclear, it may be due to a ban, a temporary suspension or because he deleted his account himself.
Before his account was deleted, Youssef criticized the excessive use of anti-Semitic accusations as a means to silence public debate, as evidenced by screenshots shared by X users.
“Anti-Semitism used to be an accusation that made people’s blood run cold. I see many people now realizing how this fear tactic is used to shut down conversations and make people afraid,” he wrote on Monday, August 19.
He added: “It has been overused and abused to intimidate people. Are you still afraid of being called an anti-Semite by these Zionists? Vote and tell me in the comments. No, I don’t care. Or: Yes, I’m still afraid.”
Many X users called for the restoration of Youssef’s account after the social network accounts of businessman Elon Musk, who has made it clear that he supports free speech, were accused of pro-Israel bias.
Bassem Youssef has made headlines for his outspoken views, including a satirical portrayal of Israeli military activities in a 2018 interview with Piers Morgan that went viral. He stressed the importance of using the right language when discussing anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
Human rights lawyer Qays Sediqi wrote to X: “X deleted Bassem Youssef’s account because he spoke out for the Palestinians. Elon, what happened to freedom of speech? Fix it, boy!!”