Microsoft blocks internal emails mentioning “Gaza” and “genocide,” say pro-Palestine employees

Microsoft

Microsoft has reportedly begun filtering employee emails containing the words “Palestine,” “Gaza,” or “genocide,” preventing them from reaching recipients, according to a group of pro-Palestine staffers called No Azure for Apartheid. The internal censorship was first detected on Wednesday, just after Microsoft’s Build conference was disrupted multiple times by activists protesting the company’s ties to the Israeli military.

The automated email filter does not appear to block terms like “Israel” or creative misspellings such as “P4lestine,” the group said. Microsoft has not responded to requests for comment.

Tensions inside Microsoft have intensified over the company’s collaboration with the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Reports from Drop Site News, The Guardian, and +972 Magazine revealed that Microsoft actively pursued contracts with the Israeli military shortly after the October 7 Hamas attack, offering custom cloud and AI deals at discounted rates. These efforts reportedly made Israel’s defense establishment one of Microsoft’s top 500 global clients.

In response to mounting criticism, Microsoft published an internal review last week stating it found “no evidence” that its technology caused harm to civilians. However, the company hasn’t denied the authenticity of leaked internal documents suggesting otherwise.

Internal dissent continues to boil. An employee who interrupted CEO Satya Nadella’s Build keynote was fired Monday. Another was removed by security the next day after interrupting a speech by Microsoft’s head of CoreAI with chants of “Free, free Palestine!”

What began as protests against cloud infrastructure deals has now escalated into a broader fight over speech, transparency, and corporate complicity—both inside and outside Microsoft’s walls.