Prominent Egyptian American comedian Bassem Youssef’s X account, which had more than 11 million followers, has been removed. The link to Youssef’s X page, now reads that “this account doesn’t exist”.
The reason for Youssef’s account removal remains unclear, possibly due to a ban, temporary suspension, or he removed his own account.
Youssef, before his account disappeared, criticized the excessive use of antisemitic accusations as a tool to silence discourse.
“Antisemitism was an accusation that used to freeze the blood in people’s veins. I see many people now realizing how this fear tactic is used to shut down conversations and scare people,” he wrote on Monday, August 19.
He added, “It’s been overused and abused in order to intimidate people. Are you still scared to be called an antisemite by those Zionists? Vote and tell me in the comments. No, I don’t care anymore. Or, Yes, I’m still scared.”
Many users on X demanded the restoration of Youssef’s account in the midst of accusations of pro-Israel prejudice against accounts on the social media owned by businessman Elon Musk, who has made it clear that he supports free expression.
Bassem Youssef has made news for his outspoken views, including a viral satirical take on Israel’s military activities during a 2018 interview with Piers Morgan. He emphasized the importance of proper language use in discussing anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism.
Taking to X, human rights lawyer Qays Sediqi wrote, “X took down Bassem Youssef’s account because he spoke up for Palestinians. Elon, what happened to free speech? Fix up lad!!.”
