In early May, Irish political rap trio Kneecap became the centre of a media firestorm. Following their appearance at the US music festival Coachella, where the group’s stage backdrop denounced Israeli war crimes and called for a free Palestine, a chorus of online detractors dredged up old concert footage of the band members appearing to make inflammatory statements such as ‘Kill your local MP’ and ‘Up Hamas, up Hezbollah’.
The group soon released a statement denying any support of proscribed organizations and refuting the allegation that they incited violence against politicians, saying the footage was deliberately taken out of context. Despite this, British politicians stumbled over themselves to publicly condemn the rappers, leading to one member being charged under anti-terrorism legislation.
