[News] Microsoft Bans the Word “Palestine” in Internal Emails
Anti-Imperialist News
news at freedomarchives.org
Thu May 22 11:14:30 EDT 2025
After days of disruption by pro-Palestine activists at its Build
developer conference, No Azure for Apartheid said, Microsoft made it
impossible to send emails containing "Palestine" or "Gaza."
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<https://substack.com/redirect/815c6a92-cfee-4a9a-bd3b-1e9855b8d136?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
https://www.dropsitenews.com/p/microsoft-word-palestine-banned-internal-email-gaza?utm_source=post-email-title&publication_id=2510348&post_id=164131931&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&triedRedirect=true&utm_medium=email
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Microsoft Bans the Word “Palestine” in Internal Emails
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=164131931&utm_source=post-email-title&utm_campaign=email-post-title&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY0MTMxOTMxLCJpYXQiOjE3NDc4ODI5MzIsImV4cCI6MTc1MDQ3NDkzMiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dGDU3D0ObORV8YI4y7430SfS02ojOFGcavlfXlusWuQ>
After days of disruption by pro-Palestine activists at its Build
developer conference, No Azure for Apartheid said, Microsoft made
it impossible to send emails containing "Palestine" or "Gaza."
Murtaza Hussain <https://substack.com/@mazmhussain> and Waqas Ahmed
<https://substack.com/@worqas>
May 22, 2025
<https://substack.com/@mazmhussain>
<https://substack.com/@worqas>
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=164131931&utm_source=substack&isFreemail=true&submitLike=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY0MTMxOTMxLCJyZWFjdGlvbiI6IuKdpCIsImlhdCI6MTc0Nzg4MjkzMiwiZXhwIjoxNzUwNDc0OTMyLCJpc3MiOiJwdWItMjUxMDM0OCIsInN1YiI6InJlYWN0aW9uIn0.z2viZCrveRmhEFz7Pnb7oRgIwuFsB4D5AgwF-9kCzAM&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=email-reaction&r=lvppb>
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=164131931&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&isFreemail=true&comments=true&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY0MTMxOTMxLCJpYXQiOjE3NDc4ODI5MzIsImV4cCI6MTc1MDQ3NDkzMiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dGDU3D0ObORV8YI4y7430SfS02ojOFGcavlfXlusWuQ&r=lvppb&utm_campaign=email-half-magic-comments&action=post-comment&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
<https://substack.com/app-link/post?publication_id=2510348&post_id=164131931&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email&utm_content=share&utm_campaign=email-share&action=share&triggerShare=true&isFreemail=true&r=lvppb&token=eyJ1c2VyX2lkIjozNjc1MTU4MywicG9zdF9pZCI6MTY0MTMxOTMxLCJpYXQiOjE3NDc4ODI5MzIsImV4cCI6MTc1MDQ3NDkzMiwiaXNzIjoicHViLTI1MTAzNDgiLCJzdWIiOiJwb3N0LXJlYWN0aW9uIn0.dGDU3D0ObORV8YI4y7430SfS02ojOFGcavlfXlusWuQ>
<https://substack.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.fbxP-tyx-PeiG6w_cdga3pfJHbJThEhYi-6MhRjJgi8?&utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email>
READ IN APP
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<https://substack.com/redirect/90ac958c-aa51-4fcb-9eb6-efb069fef061?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>
Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
Microsoft has quietly implemented a policy blocking employee emails
containing the words “Palestine,” “Gaza,” or “genocide” on its internal
Exchange servers, according to No Azure for Apartheid, a group of
pro-Palestine Microsoft employees. The automated filter, which silently
prevents such emails from reaching recipients was first detected on
Wednesday—just after Microsoft’s Build developer conference faced
repeated disruptions by the activist group.
Microsoft has been rocked by internal dissent over its collaboration
with the Israeli military and government amid the ongoing assault on
Gaza. The company has faced disruptions to its events, including
protests from employees over its provision of cloud services and other
critical infrastructure used by the Israeli military.
Now, the company appears to be tightening its grip on internal
discourse. The terms “Israel” and “P4lestine” do not trigger a block,
the group said. Microsoft did not immediately respond to a request for
comment.
Last week, Microsoft attempted to do damage control over its alleged
involvement in the genocide. Ahead of the annual Build event, which is
aimed at developers and tech enthusiasts from all over the world, the
company issued a report claiming that an internal investigation found
that Microsoft’s operations did not cause harm to civilians in Gaza.
Microsoft’s provision of technology to the Israeli Ministry of Defense
(MOD) was first reported by Drop Site News
<https://substack.com/redirect/703321af-d846-48e9-95c5-afec2043473d?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>,
alongside The Guardian and the magazine +972, based on a trove of
internal documents. The reports revealed that Microsoft actively pursued
contracts with the Israeli defense ministry, offering them tailored
proposals and significant discounts on cloud and AI services. These
deals, negotiated and escalated over months, positioned Microsoft as a
key technology provider during Israeli military operations in Gaza.
Microsoft did not dispute the authenticity of the documents or the
reporting, but days before its major annual events released a statement
<https://substack.com/redirect/5147cac4-1f69-4380-b93e-8a479fb7fd5c?j=eyJ1IjoibHZwcGIifQ.9RIwWbE6EVIB7Jy8lfazxZKfps8R18neRGMKwOiqnRM>saying
that it conducted an internal review and “found no evidence that
Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies, or any of our other software,
have been used to harm people.”
According to internal documents and emails reviewed by Drop Site,
however, just days after the October 7, 2023 attack and the start of
Israeli offensive in Gaza, Microsoft started pitching to the Israeli
military, anticipating major military spending. Over the next few
months, Israeli military became one of Microsoft’s top 500 global customers.
On Monday, No Azure for Apartheid said, an employee who disrupted CEO
Satya Nadella’s keynote at the flagship Build conference was fired. On
Tuesday, during a speech by Jay Parikh, head of CoreAI, a worker
shouted, “Jay! My people are suffering! Cut ties with Israel! No Azure
for apartheid! Free, free Palestine!” before being swiftly removed by
security.
Like
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Comment
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Restack
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