Journalist indicted for leaking antisemitic Kanye West rant
On Thursday, freelance American journalist Tim Burke was indicted on the charges of "hacking" into Fox News and leaking an infamous, controversial, unaired conversation between rapper Kanye "Ye" West and host Tucker Carlson. The October 2022 conversation—that landed Ye in hot waters due to his alleged antisemitism—included behind-the-scenes clips of the Tucker Carlson Tonight show and was published by Vice and Media Matters the same month.
But first, what does the term mean?
U.S. Department of State defines antisemitism as "a certain perception of Jews, which may be expressed as hatred toward Jews." "Rhetorical and physical manifestations of antisemitism are directed toward Jewish or non-Jewish individuals and/or their property, toward Jewish community institutions and religious facilities." In simple terms, it refers to comments/actions against the Jewish community, something Ye has been accused of multiple times.
Burke is battling 14 charges
According to the Tampa Bay Times, Burke was charged with "one count of conspiracy; six counts of accessing a protected computer without authorization; and seven counts of intercepting or disclosing wire, oral or electronic communications." The indictment claims he hacked into computers owned by a "multinational media company headquartered in New York City" (implying Fox News) and obtained unaired clips featuring discussions between a show host and guest. Fox, Carlson, and Ye aren't directly named in the indictment.
'It's not hacking, it's just good investigative journalism'
Burke's attorneys, Mark Rasch and Michael Maddux, defended their client's "perfectly legal" reporting. "While we, like anyone else, condemn computer hacking, we emphatically insist that the facts of this case will demonstrate that there was, in fact, no hacking whatsoever." "This case will have a significant impact on how people in general access and use the Internet, how they use shared passwords to access websites, and how online journalism is conducted." "It's not hacking, it's just good investigative journalism."
Content of leaked footage that created controversy
The leaked footage included unaired segments of an interview with Ye, where he made antisemitic comments and repeated infamous conspiracy theories against the Jews. Ye stated that "Planned Parenthood was made... with the KKK (white supremacist organization) to control the Jew population" and mentioned notorious theories about Jewish people controlling the nation's financial institutions. Additionally, the leaks showed Carlson making inappropriate comments to an on-set makeup artist and calling a woman "yummy." Fox News eventually fired Carlson in April 2023.
What else did Ye say in the infamous conversation?
In the same conversation, the rapper claimed that the body positivity movement is a "genocide of the Black race" and he was pressured to stay mum about his support for former US President Donald Trump ahead of the 2016 election. "I prefer my kids knew Hanukkah (Jewish festival) than Kwanzaa (African-American festival). At least it will come with some financial engineering." Carlson responded, "We have rarely heard a man speak so honestly and so movingly about what he believes."
'Visions' from God to claims of 'sexualizing kids'
Ye also spoke at length about several other confounding topics. He said, "I mean, like actors, professional actors, placed into my house to sexualize my kids" and added that one of his children was "kidnapped" so that he could not see her. "Everyone saw in broad daylight these public figures kidnap my Black child on her birthday." He also claimed he gets "visions" from God to work toward "community building."
Ye was aware that he was going to offend people
Offering his definition of the Jewish community, he said, "When I say Jew, I mean...who the people known as the race Black really are." "Think about us judging each other on how white we could talk would be like, you know, a Jewish person judging another Jewish person on how good they danced or something...that's probably like a bad example and people are going to get mad at that shit." "I probably want to edit that out."
