Wiley’s management company said it would no longer work with the artist, who received a top honor from the government two years ago for his contributions to British music.
The “antisemitic posts from Wiley are abhorrent,” British Home Secretary Priti Patel tweeted Sunday.
“They should not have been able to remain on Twitter and Instagram for so long and I have asked them for a full explanation,” Patel wrote. “Social media companies must act much faster to remove such appalling hatred from their platforms.”
On Monday, Downing Street spokesman James Slack said that “we have set out very clearly that Twitter’s performance has not been good enough in response to the anti-Semitic comments made by Wiley and it needs to do much better,” according to the Associated Press.
Twitter removed numerous tweets that it deemed offensive but kept others online. The company temporarily locked the artist’s account, which is still visible. The original tweets were up for at least 12 hours, the AP reported.
Facebook did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The BBC reported that Instagram had removed some of Wiley’s content, too.
A 48-hour boycott of the platforms, organized by users who argued that the companies’ responses were too slow, began early Monday and is set to last through Wednesday morning. The campaign is using the hashtag #NoSafeSpaceForJewHate.
Among the boycott’s supporters are several British celebrities and politicians, including TV presenter Rachel Riley. Members of Parliament for the ruling Conservative Party and for several opposition parties, including Labour, also announced they would participate.
“Why on earth have @Twitter left up such blatant antisemitism and hatred? It hits all the dangerous beats, Jews get things you don’t get, they are in control, they think their better… This is dangerous stuff,” tweeted Labour MP Jess Phillips.
(Excerpt) Read more in: The Washington Post