The tech industry has undergone a political shift in recent years, pivoting towards greater support for, and acquiescing to, authoritarian governments and movements around the world.
One key example has been Israel and Palestine, and how tech platforms are supporting the Israeli state.
In previous years, technology platforms offered greater freedom and attention to Palestinian narratives that had been ignored or suppressed by other media.
But today, technology and social media platforms are censoring and suppressing pro-Palestinian speech. And, most notably, the technology companies are cozying up to the Israeli government and defense sector, forging close links, even as the genocide in Gaza continues.
As Drop Site News reported last year in a special multi-part podcast called “The Palestine Laboratory,” much of this tech is actively used in Israel’s military onslaught on Palestinians.
This week, Drop Site’s Murtaza Hussain is joined by Omar Zahzah, an assistant professor at San Francisco State University. Zahzah is also the author of: “Terms of Servitude: Zionism, Silicon Valley, and Digital Settler Colonialism in the Palestinian Liberation Struggle.”
Listen above or on the Drop Site News channel on Apple, Spotify, RSS, or wherever you get your podcasts. This episode was made in part with support from The Intercept.