Kanye West's social media accounts restricted

Kanye West's Twitter and Instagram accounts were restricted over the weekend, with the social media platforms saying they removed the rapper's posts after online users condemned them as anti-Semitic.

He was first locked out of his Instagram by Facebook parent Meta Platforms on Friday after which he took to Twitter, where he tweeted on Saturday for the first time in two years.

West's first post on Twitter since 2020 was a blurry photo of the rapper and Meta Platforms founder Mark Zuckerberg singing karaoke. The tweet said: "Look at this Mark How you gone kick me off instagram."

The tweet, in which he said he wasn't anti-Semitic, has been removed by Twitter due to a violation of its policies. His account was also locked, a Twitter spokesperson confirmed on Sunday.

The step by Twitter Inc to lock the rapper's account was noteworthy because billionaire Elon Musk, who has said he would buy Twitter and calls himself a free speech absolutist, had welcomed West's return to the platform and replied to a post by the rapper tweeting: "Welcome back to Twitter, my friend!"

West has also previously made erratic online posts. Earlier this year, he was suspended from Instagram for 24 hours after he directed racial slurs at comedian Trevor Noah.

The company said on Saturday temporary restrictions on posting, commenting and messaging were imposed on West's Instagram account.