In mid-October, the official music video of rapper Lowkey’s smash song Terrorist? was removed by YouTube. No explanation for the shock purge was given to the popular musician or his record label Global Faction, which posted the clip. Nonetheless, given that the song raises serious questions over who and what are the true “terrorists” in the world, particularly urgent ones today in the context of "Tel Aviv’s" genocidal assault on Gaza, the reasons may be self-evident.

Terrorist? was first released on Lowkey’s seminal 2011 album, Soundtrack to the Struggle. Then, the US and its international proxies were engaged in the fateful “War on Terror." Western citizens were routinely warned of the grave threat of violent “Islamist extremists” walking among them, justifying encroachments on civil liberties at home and brutal military “interventions” abroad. 

The track’s skewering of “terrorism”, as defined by Western governments, was as relevant and vital then as it is now, which surely accounts for its enduring popularity. At the time of the video’s removal from YouTube, it had racked up 5.5 million views.

At the start of Terrorist?, Lowkey recites a dictionary definition of terrorism, as “violent or destructive acts, such as bombing committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands,” before enquiring “so what's a terrorist?”. He then asks whether “remote-controlled drones” produced by major arms manufacturer BAE Systems, or “homemade IEDs”, are a “bigger threat to human society.”

In the second verse, Lowkey references CIA and MI6 coups and assassinations during the Cold War. He focuses on Chile, Congo, and Iran, just three examples among a great many devastating Western covert actions in the Global South. He acknowledges the vast number of US and British military bases across the globe. He suggests this amounts to “terrorism everyday”, and the term’s definition is “dependent” on “who your nemesis is.”

‘Potential Nightmare’

Given his history of crusading anti-Zionist activism, it is somewhat surprising that Lowkey barely touches upon the Palestinian struggle in Terrorist? He merely observes wryly that “more Israelis die from peanut allergies” than purported “terrorism” but does not discuss the issue further. Yet, just this brief excerpt may account for why the track was pulled by YouTube. After all, its parent company Google is embroiled in an insidious censorship alliance with Zionist entities, currently on high alert due to the Israeli genocide in Gaza.

Ever since the audacious Palestinian strike against "Tel Aviv" commenced on October 7, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his government have endlessly claimed they are victims of terrorism and are fighting it. In the process, Hamas has been repeatedly compared to ISIS, or even somehow worse. Meanwhile, Israeli occupation forces (IOF) have relentlessly and indiscriminately carpet-bombed Gaza in response, obliterating housing blocks, schools, and hospitals, which has killed thousands, including many children.

While Western leaders endorse the grotesque butchery, millions globally have taken to the streets to voice solidarity with Palestinians since the horror began. Many understandably ask how the Zionist destruction of Gaza and the West does not constitute “terrorism”. By any objective measure, Israeli actions exactly fit the concept’s definition, as stated by Lowkey in his now-suppressed protest rap: “violent or destructive acts, such as bombing committed by groups in order to intimidate a population or government into granting their demands.”

Other Lowkey tracks that explicitly condemn Zionist oppression of Palestinians have been earmarked for deletion on the music streaming platform Spotify, which is collaborating with Zionist organizations to censor content. There have also in recent years been numerous attempts to cancel his concerts and appearances at political events, led by Zionist organizations and operatives.

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Back in 2011, the far-right, much-sued Jewish Chronicle described Lowkey’s ability to reach a young audience as a “potential nightmare". With Western leaders and media outlets now united in justifying without qualification - in some cases preemptively - Zionist atrocities in Gaza, his large platform and potential to reach impressionable audiences have perhaps never been so “nightmarish”.

Luckily for "Tel Aviv", YouTube has for many years counted the Anti-Defamation League, a Zionist lobby group with a shocking record of peddling anti-Palestinian propaganda, as one of its “trusted flaggers”. Under this program, organizations “notify the platform of content that violates their community guidelines,” so it can swiftly be suppressed or simply removed outright.

This no doubt accounts for why many videos critical of "Israel" have been affected on YouTube. For example, a May 2019 CNN interview with Lowkey, in which the rapper condemned that year’s Eurovision Song Contest being held in "Tel Aviv", was inexplicably “age-restricted” and made inaccessible via searches, some time after it was uploaded. Similar treatment has also been applied to a February 2022 clip, in which Amnesty International explains how it concluded "Israel’s" treatment of Palestinians constitutes apartheid.

Meanwhile, since "Israel’s" genocide in Gaza began, mawkish cartoon adverts targeting children and their parents intended to engender sympathy for the Zionist entity have featured as targeted advertising before many YouTube videos, likely to be watched by younger viewers and their parents. Lowkey comments:

“I was shocked to find out the music video for my song Terrorist? was removed by YouTube. In 2019 YouTube placed a warning on the video that it might be offensive, which hurt views as people had to sign in to watch it. That was bad enough, especially when there are all types of music videos on the platform with far more violent content.”

‘Second Nakba’

Coincidentally, the Anti-Defamation League becoming a “trusted flagger” for YouTube followed not long after veteran hip-hop impresario Lyor Cohen, once venomously described by Mos Def as a “tall Israeli” who runs the rap industry, was appointed the platform’s Global Head of Music in September 2016.

Cohen was born in New York City to a father who’d been part of the Zionist terror group Haganah, in particular the notorious Harel Brigade, central to the 1948 Nakba. Part of Cohen’s childhood was spent in "Kfar Haim", a Zionist settlement in Palestine named after Haïm Arlozoroff, who negotiated financial agreements with Nazi authorities for the transfer of German Jews and their property to Palestine in the 1930s.

Cohen has censored pro-Palestinian voices in music throughout his lengthy industry career. While involved with iconic hip-hop label Def Jam in the late 1980s and early '90s, he dismissed Professor Griff, a Muslim, from the political rap outfit Public Enemy, for his outspoken criticism of "Israel". More recently, at Warner Music, he allegedly refused to promote the work and blocked the release of an album by Lupe Fiasco, a passionate supporter of the Palestinian struggle.

Elsewhere, YouTube directly employs multiple former IOF soldiers and spooks. The platform’s marketing chief Riki Drori is a former IOF communications officer. Netta Gross, who has worked in a variety of high-ranking roles at Google and YouTube since 2012, was an IOF satellite officer from 2003 - 2006. Naama Citron, another Google and YouTube veteran currently the latter’s product strategy lead, spent four years as an Israeli intelligence operative, leading “a professional research & analysis team of seven soldiers.” YouTube senior product director Dror Oren was a senior IOF analyst from 1994 - 2000.

To say the least, then, YouTube is rife at its highest levels with individuals sympathetic to Zionism, who would be eagerly willing to accept - if not outright encourage - directions on what videos to remove or stifle as the IOF seeks to execute a horrific “second Nakba” in Gaza. 

Given Elon Musk ending Twitter’s own “trusted flagger” program, to which the Anti-Defamation League was also enrolled, has slightly restricted the Israeli lobby’s ability to curtail the spread of content testifying to Zionism’s genocidal reality on his platform, the need to intensify censorship efforts elsewhere is by definition greatly magnified. Lowkey concludes:

“It seems Israel’s latest war on Gaza is an opportunity for Zionists to clean up political content on the internet and reassert informational dominance. Ultimately, it will not work. As book burners of the past found, when you suppress an idea, you discredit arguments against it.”