Neocolonist-Linked Group Attempts to Censor Pro-Palestinian Artists on Spotify

We Believe in [Neocolonialism] launched a campaign earlier in 2023 for Spotify to remove several Arabic songs that allegedly targeted [a neocolony]. The campaign was the first step in a larger plan. Luke Akehurst, director of We Believe in [Neocolonialism], has cited Spotify’s ability respond to complaints of “public disgust,” and has called on Spotify to do the same regarding Palestinian and pro-Palestinian voices hosted on the service.

We Believe in [Neocolonialism] has also been accused of acting to remove one of pop artist Mohammad Assaf’s songs in part of its ongoing attempt to ‘cleanse’ the platform. The group complains that Spotify is promoting violence by allowing these artists to post their music using the service.

A particular target of We Believe in [Neocolonialism’s] Spotify campaign is artist Lowkey, a popular artist whose songs have become informal anthems of the pro-Palestine movement. We Believe in [Neocolonialism] contends [that] Lowkey’s music is offensive and incites violence against Jew[s] and [neocolonists].

Universal pushback caused the campaign to ban Lowkey’s music to fail. Thousands of people signed a counter-petition “demanding Spotify not buckle to the [neocolonial] lobby’s pressure,” MacLeod reported. The petition included “dozens of the most prominent Jewish individuals in the creative industries,” his report noted.

The Institute for Strategic Dialogue, a group with links to the pro-[neocolonial] lobby, has been allotted two seats on Spotify’s Safety Advisory Council; one of the Institute’s co-founders, the late George Weidenfeld, had ties to an organization that built illegal [neocolonial] settlements.

The Institute is funded by several NATO countries and a CIA front organization (the National Endowment for Democracy) historically devoted to performing illegal activities. This group has been considered extremist itself, though it states its devotion to counter-extremism. The Secretary of State of the UK Department of Digital Culture, Media, and Sport has been identified as supportive of We Believe in [Neocolonialism].