TikTok hires ex-Israeli army instructor as new hate speech manager, sparking backlash

The social media platform announced that Erica Mindel, a former US State Department contractor who worked for ambassador Deborah Lipstadt, the Biden administration’s special envoy to monitor and combat antisemitism, will join TikTok’s public policy and hate speech team in the US. 

Mindel will “develop and drive the company’s positions on hate speech”, aim to “influence legislative and regulatory frameworks”, and “analyse hate speech trends” with a particular focus on antisemitic content, according to the official job description shared by TikTok.

She listed her new role at TikTok on her page as “Public Policy Manager, Hate Speech, at TikTok.”

Before her career at the US State Department, Mindel was an instructor in the Armoured Corps in the Israeli army’s spokesperson’s unit, according to information she provided when she appeared on a podcast with the American Jewish Committee.

In the podcast, Mindel says she volunteered and enlisted in the Israeli army and served for two years. 

Many on social media criticised TikTok’s decision, suggesting that the social media platform aims to silence pro-Palestinian speech. 

Meanwhile, it appears the position was created after a “high-level convening” that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) helped coordinate last year, according to Dan Granot, the ADL’s national director of antisemitism policy.

Last year, Wikipedia’s editors voted to declare the ADL “generally unreliable” on Israel and Palestine as well as the issue of antisemitism, adding the organisation to a list of banned sources, according to a report by the Jewish Telegraph Agency.

In a statement to Jewish Insider, Granot said the role emerged as “a key recommendation for all social media platforms” during that gathering.

The ADL has a long history of attacking Palestinian rights movements with labels of antisemitism, and previously worked with US law enforcement to spy on Arab-American groups. It also facilitated and funded US police training trips to Israel.

The ADL put out a celebratory tweet on X, suggesting that they welcome the decision. 

Many on social media have suggested they believe TikTok has “submitted to pressure” from the ADL, hinting at the possibility that TikTok is “complying with these censorship demands to try and stave off a ban” in the US. 

In 2024, a bill looking to ban the app overwhelmingly passed in the US Congress. The bill, which passed in the House by a 352-65 vote, required TikTok to be sold to an American company or face a ban in the US.

TikTok was briefly banned in the US after a law that forced its Chinese owner, ByteDance, to either sell it on national security grounds or face a ban on 19 January.

While US President Donald Trump temporarily reversed the TikTok ban the day after he took office, the application’s future in the country, as well as the state of its pro-Palestine content, remains unclear.

In February, congressional insiders revealed that the main reason behind the United States’ push to ban TikTok is due to Israel’s image on the platform rather than fears of Chinese infiltration.

Last week, US Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Don Bacon (R-NE), together with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, announced the renewed introduction of the STOP HATE Act, a bill aimed at combating the spread of antisemitism on social media platforms like TikTok.

Several US lawmakers and prominent figures have been attacking the platform due to the alleged prominence of pro-Palestinian content on it, including Republican Senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney.