Sada Social Center expresses its deep concern and strong condemnation regarding TikTok’s appointment of Erica Mindel—a former instructor in the Israeli army’s Armored Corps—as the platform’s new Manager of Hate Speech Policy.
According to reports reviewed by Sada Social, Mindel previously worked with the U.S. State Department under Ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden Administration’s Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Antisemitism. Prior to that, she served as an instructor in the Israeli army’s Spokesperson’s Unit. In her new role, Mindel will be tasked with formulating TikTok’s hate speech policies, shaping relevant legislative and regulatory frameworks, and monitoring trends—particularly those related to antisemitic content.
Sada Social views this appointment as a highly concerning indicator for the future of digital freedoms for Palestinians. The center warns of the serious implications that Mindel’s military background may have on TikTok’s moderation practices, especially regarding Palestinian reports of incitement, bias, and the silencing of their narrative. Assigning someone affiliated with an army currently under international investigation for genocide in Gaza to lead hate speech policy only entrenches existing biases and undermines the principles of fairness and digital justice.
Sada Social’s 2024 Digital Index revealed that 27% of all digital violations targeting Palestinian content occurred on TikTok. According to TikTok’s own transparency report for the second half of 2024, the platform complied with 94% of the Israeli government’s content removal requests, all while imposing strict censorship on Palestinian content. This included the deletion of videos with clear journalistic value, and the targeting of accounts belonging to journalists, media outlets, activists, and supporters of the Palestinian cause.
Sada Social also underscores that TikTok has failed to undertake any meaningful internal review of its policies, even after the South African government submitted video evidence to the International Court of Justice (ICJ)—footage that was published on TikTok and depicted Israeli soldiers celebrating the destruction of Palestinian homes, mocking victims, and writing messages on bombs before they were dropped on Gaza. Instead of responding to these disturbing violations, TikTok has continued its partnerships with a political and military regime currently under international investigation.
Hiring a terrorist instructor as it’s hate speech manager will surely go well
She is not a terrorist as national militaries do not commit acts of terrorism. National militaries commit war crimes thus she is a war criminal not a terrorist. Terrorists might have some degree of legitimacy behind their actions which war criminals do not have.
If “national militaries do not commit acts of terrorism” (source?), the IDF, by that definition, is not a national military. There is no definition of terrorism that excludes the IDF’s actions during the last 75 years
Go look up what defines “terrorism” it’s non-nation states engaging in political violence.
Armies commit war crimes. This is entry level IR stuff.
I hope you find comfort outside of bullshit semantic arguments
I think we agree on a more substantial level so I’m happy to leave it at that
This isn’t a matter of semantics. You cannot charge IDF soldiers with terrorism you can and should push for their prosecution for crimes against humanity and/or war crimes. It is important to make the right claims as to what laws are violated so you appear informed when making these demands.
I’m not charging them, but you’re right