Microsoft Faces Backlash for Blocking Emails with ‘Gaza,’ ‘Palestine,’ ‘Genocide’ Content

The issue surfaced Wednesday around noon PST, when employees noticed emails with these terms failed to send, while those without them were delivered, sources and materials confirmed.

Three employees, speaking anonymously to avoid retaliation, shared concerns about the selective blocking.

One employee, whose email signature included “apartheid,” reported successfully sending a work-related email at 11:30 a.m. PST, but subsequent emails failed, likely due to the signature.

Internal message boards revealed frustration, with employees questioning why “Israel” passed through filters while “Palestine” and “Gaza” did not, though altered terms like “P4lestine” were delivered.

“Is the company abandoning the inclusivity initiative or is this only targeting Palestinians and their allies?” one employee asked on an internal board.

The Verge first reported the potential email censorship.

Microsoft’s chief communications officer, Frank Shaw, responded internally, stating, “To clarify, emails are not being blocked or censored, unless they are being sent to large numbers of random distribution groups. There can be a small delay and the team is working to make that as short as possible.”

A Microsoft spokesperson added, “Over the past couple of days, a number of emails have been sent to tens of thousands of employees across the company and we have taken measures to try and reduce those emails to those that have not opted in.”

However, employees reported that even mundane, work-related emails to small groups failed to send if they included the flagged terms. 

Another anonymous employee said an HR report containing one of the terms triggered no auto-response for over 24 hours, nor did it appear in the HR portal until much later.

The group No Azure for Apartheid noted some emails were delayed by seven hours or more, suggesting manual reviews were occurring. 

Protests Escalate Over Microsoft’s Ties to Israeli Military

Microsoft has faced growing protests over the Israeli military’s use of its AI products, with disruptions at recent company events.

At the Build developer conference in Seattle this week, protesters interrupted keynote speeches and sessions.

On Tuesday, during a session on AI security practices, protesters targeted Sarah Bird, Microsoft’s head of responsible AI, co-hosting with Neta Haiby, a former Israel Defense Forces member, according to a Tumblr page.

“Sarah Bird, you are whitewashing the crimes of Microsoft in Palestine,” said Hossam Nasr, an organizer with No Azure for Apartheid, who was fired last year after organizing a vigil for Palestinians killed in Gaza.

In another Build session, an unnamed Palestinian tech worker disrupted a speech by Jay Parikh, Microsoft’s head of CoreAI, shouting, “Jay, you are complicit in the genocide in Gaza. My people are suffering because of you. How dare you. How dare you talk about AI when my people are suffering. Cut ties with Israel.”

The worker also called to “free Palestine” and referenced the No Azure for Apartheid petition.

On Monday, software engineer Joe Lopez interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s keynote, yelling, “Satya, how about you show them how Microsoft is killing Palestinians? How about you show them how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?”

Lopez was fired, with a company document citing “misconduct resulting in the violation of both company policy and our expectations of a respectful workplace,” barring him from future employment with Microsoft or its affiliates.

Last month, at Microsoft’s 50th anniversary event, software engineers Ibtihal Aboussad and Vaniya Agrawal protested the Israeli military’s use of Microsoft’s AI during executive presentations, leading to their terminations, according to documents.