Activists rally online in support of Egyptian satirist Bassem Youssef

Online users in Egypt and across the Middle East have shown overwhelming support for renowned Egyptian political satirist Bassem Youssef after his X account was deactivated on Tuesday.

Initial reports suggested that the platform had suspended his account, allegedly due to accusations of antisemitism and his vocal pro-Palestinian stance during the ongoing Gaza conflict, sparking significant backlash, with many rallying behind Youssef and condemning the platform's decision.

Arabic and English hashtags carrying his name quickly gained traction online, drawing over 140,000 reposts and comments in less than 24 hours.

Activist Osama Rushdi expressed support for Youssef "in his just battle against the Zionist terrorist that is trying to subjugate the critics of genocide and war crimes in Gaza under the pretext of antisemitism".

Egyptian-American writer Mamoun Fandy wondered whether "the real genocide in Gaza will move to the virtual world" as he described deleting Youssef's account as "a virtual violence that should be confronted".

User Ayad Qassem posted on X  that "the move raises fears regarding the future of freedom of expression on X and about the size of Israeli influence on Western media outlets".

Youssef posted a statement late Tuesday on his Instagram account saying he had disabled his X account over safety issues involving his loved ones.

"No, my X account wasn't taken down by X and I don't wish to falsely victimize myself using this," he said.

"When safety issues concerning my loved ones are alleviated I might consider coming back. I wish to deal with this away from media," he added.

Israel's official X account commented on the deactivation, posting the comedian's deactivated profile, writing "Bye", to which Youssef said: "How fragile can you be when the official account of your country acts like a little b****h!"

Youssef is known not only for satire but also for being vocal against Israel'swar on Gaza, which has killed over 40,000 Palestinians since 7 October.

He garnered attention following his interview with British journalist Piers Morgan, where he used dark humour to critique Israel'swar on Gaza.