Listen closely to the Kneecap furore. You’ll hear hypocrisy from all sides | Dorian Lynskey
GuardianMAY 9
Irish Rapper Charged with Terror Offense Over Hezbollah Flag
Above: Mo Chara (L) and Moglai Bap from Irish Hip Hop trio Kneecap perform onstage during the 2025 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival at Empire Polo Club on April 11, 2025, in Indio, California. Image copyright: Valerie Macon/Contributor/AFP via Getty Images
The Spin
Right narrative
Liam O'Hannah and Kneecap deserve terror charges for openly supporting proscribed terror groups like Hamas and Hezbollah, as seen in their Coachella and 2024 gig chants. Their actions, including projecting anti-Israel slogans and inciting violence, violate U.K. terrorism laws. The group's ties to Labour, which funded them despite their pro-IRA and terror rhetoric, demand further investigation.
Left narrative
These charges are anti-free speech, not anti-terrorism. Kneecap's statements and alleged flag display reflect passionate political expression, not endorsements of terrorism, and those attempting to claim otherwise are intentionally ignoring the context of artistic provocation. No matter how aggressively this censorship effort targets them, they will continue performing and speaking to the public who share their anti-genocide message.
Cynical narrative
The left and the right are hypocrites in this case. The left, which promotes censorship for other issues, is now against it because they support Palestine. On the flip side, the right, which used to cry foul as the left censored people on topics like pronouns, now calls for banning anti-Israel speech. It seems that both the U.K. and Ireland are controlled by governments that prioritize foreign interests over their own people.