A BBC investigation reveals that Microsoft is permanently banning Palestinians in the U.S. and other countries who use Skype to call relatives in Gaza.

Reportedly, Microsoft has been banning and wiping the accounts of users who have leveraged Skype to contact relatives in Gaza. In some cases, email accounts over a decade old have been locked, destroying access to banking accounts, OneDrive storage, and beyond.

United States resident Salah Elsadi lost his account of over 15 years in the dragnet. “I’ve had this Hotmail for 15 years. They banned me for no reason, saying I have violated their terms — what terms? Tell me. I’ve filled out about 50 forms and called them many many times.” Eiad Hametto from Saudi Arabia echoed the report, “We are civilians with no political background who just wanted to check on our families. They’ve suspended my email account that I’ve had for nearly 20 years. It was connected to all my work. They killed my life online.”

Many of the users affected by the bans expressed that Microsoft may be falsely labelling them as Hamas

  • Kyrgizion@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    Remember: today it’s “just” the Palestinians and you may not be affected or care. But tomorrow, it could be you.

    • BassTurd@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Yep. If you ever shared a political opinion, that could put you on someone’s naughty list. If that someone gets a position of power and decides they want to attack, well, you could be the next metaphorical Palestinian.

  • Bezier@suppo.fi
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    2 months ago

    This is what I fear the most with these platforms. They have these shitty automated moderation systems that can just decide to delete everything you have there on a whim. Already common on places like youtube and facebook, but it just keeps getting worse. Every site is pushing users into signing in with their google/microsoft/whatever accounts.

    Remember the guy who lost access to his smart home when amazon banned him for no reason?

    • Mrkawfee@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      It isn’t even on a whim. They get pressured to act on “anti semitism” and define that to mean anything that offends Zionists.

      • Leate_Wonceslace@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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        2 months ago

        The last time I used a Linux PC was around 2012 with something called “Egyptian Hax” that my sister set up because she wanted me to play NetHack, so a guide would be a great start. I’m aware that WINE has gone through some vast improvements, but beyond that I don’t really know where to start, what distro would be good for me, or anything else.

        Edit: not getting mocked for admitting my ignorance would be a huge encouragement as well, tbh. It’s hard not to be resentful when a community is hostile to new members. Calling someone a slur for not already being a part of the in group is a great way to keep people from joining. 👍

    • z00s@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Why wait? Install it now. I would recommend Mint as a beginner distro.

      • djsaskdja@reddthat.com
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        2 months ago

        Why do people keep recommending Mint as a starter distro? Maybe if your computer is a toaster, but it lacks tons of modern features. Seems like a one way track to people thinking Linux sucks. Fedora KDE edition is a way better beginner distro for a halfway decent PC.

        • Krzd@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Because the UI is similar to windows, so it will feel more familiar to (ex-)windows users

    • archchan@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      No, it’s standard corp level behavior that’s beholden to government censorship and propaganda when it doesn’t fit the narrative. You can substitute any big tech company in the US for Google. They all do this. It’s why the government is not a fan of TikTok, they don’t have that same level of control over the flow of information.

      • DeVaolleysAdVocate@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        that and it is quite literally spyware that sends all the consumer data to the CCP where they can adjust their own algorithms to show things that can sway the minds of people too young to think critically

        • SSJMarx@lemm.ee
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          2 months ago

          the cpc adjusts the American version of an app operated in Singapore to propagandize Zoomers

          This only happens in the minds of the paranoid. China has their own version of TikTok, Douyin, which operates under their media restrictions.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      You can’t say war crimes are bad, because that helps Trump win. Trump will do more war crimes. Ergo, saying war crimes are bad means you’re in favor of war crimes.

      • uis@lemm.ee
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        2 months ago

        You can’t say war crimes are bad, because that helps Trump win.

        So am I supposed to root for Putin now?

  • Maxnmy's@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    I don’t understand why it’s so mainstream to equate Palestine with Hamas. It’s as if there is an actual conspiracy going on to to support this genocide. Is it because it’s so easy to say you’re antiemetic if you oppose “the Jews”?

    • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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      2 months ago

      It’s completely normalized racism. America has been institutionalizing Islamophobia for years to justify their invasions of the Middle East where we kill millions of innocent civilians “terorrists”

      Before the 2000’s a lot of that manufactured hate was directed towards Asians because we needed to justify war crimes in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Laos etc.

      • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2007/07/gary-hart-lynne-cheney-and-war-with-china/7644/

        Early in 2001, the commission presented a report to the incoming G.W. Bush administration warning that terrorism would be the nation’s greatest national security problem, and saying that unless the United States took proper protective measures a terrorist attack was likely within its borders. Neither the president nor the vice president nor any other senior official from the new administration took time to meet with the commission members or hear about their findings.

        The commission had 14 members, split 7-7, Republican and Democrat, as is de rigeur for bodies of this type. Today Hart told me that in the first few meetings, commission members would go around the room and volunteer their ideas about the nation’s greatest vulnerabilities, most urgent needs, and so on.

        At the first meeting, one Republican woman on the commission said that the overwhelming threat was from China. Sooner or later the U.S. would end up in a military showdown with the Chinese Communists. There was no avoiding it, and we would only make ourselves weaker by waiting. No one else spoke up in support.

        The same thing happened at the second meeting – discussion from other commissioners about terrorism, nuclear proliferation, anarchy of failed states, etc, and then this one woman warning about the looming Chinese menace. And the third meeting too. Perhaps more.

        Finally, in frustration, this woman left the commission.

        “Her name was Lynne Cheney,” Hart said. “I am convinced that if it had not been for 9/11, we would be in a military showdown with China today.” Not because of what China was doing, threatening, or intending, he made clear, but because of the assumptions the Administration brought with it when taking office. (My impression is that Chinese leaders know this too, which is why there are relatively few complaints from China about the Iraq war. They know that it got the U.S. off China’s back!)

          • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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            2 months ago

            Plenty of folks on here have bought into the China Boogeyman narrative. Her family’s propaganda has been devastatingly effective. We likely will be at war with China in another generation, given our current trajectory.

            • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              China isn’t blameless. Factory and camp narratives aside, their naval actions are bellicose.

              • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                their naval actions are bellicose

                The atrocities that western nations have had to commit to keep a foothold in places like Osaka, the Philippines, Indonesia, Pakistan, and India really disqualify any of these folks from claiming another country is “bellicose”. We’re still out in Oceania committing genocides of native peoples, to this day.

                That’s before you get into some belly-aching about a Chinese warship sailing through the Straight of Taiwan, as though its not American property.

                • Maggoty@lemmy.world
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                  2 months ago

                  Hahaha. First of all this is old, there’s not any bases in Afghanistan anymore. Second, this is the same propaganda Russia runs with about NATO. They do belligerent stuff and then complain when their neighbors ask the country with a bigger stick for protection. Also, did someone include HK in this graphic? I know there’s lots of US bases in the Pacific, but I think someone is gilding the lily.

                  But also no, it’s not just about sailing a ship through Taiwanese waters. We do the same thing to China all the time, just to remind them that under international law that’s okay.

                  It’s conducting war games that completely surround Taiwan.

                  It’s claiming a ridiculous area for it’s EEZ, far larger than international law allows and completely disregarding any potential EEZ for other countries in the area.

                  It’s sinking fishing vessels in international water

                  It’s hacking the government systems of it’s neighbors

                  The list goes on…

              • HomerianSymphony@lemmy.world
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                2 months ago

                Why would China engage in military conflict with the USA when they can just sit back and watch the USA collapse on its own?

      • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Without America the Palestine people would have starved to death years ago. Their own Arabian brothers won’t even help them. America doesn’t need to institionalize islamaphobia when they do it themselves. You can look into any Islam media and you would find they actively burn u.s. flags on state media and call for our destruction. Nothing was needed to justify your made up war crimes in any of those countries because they all started the wars. Japan bombed pearl harbor. North Korea invaded South Korea. Vietnam Gulf of tonkin. Etc etc.

        • prole@sh.itjust.works
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          2 months ago

          LO-fuckin-L at using Gulf of Tonkin, a well known false flag operation meant solely to draw the US into a protracted conflict we had no business being in. 🤡

          • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            I mean sure maybe the August 4th incident was overblown but the August 2nd 1964 incident did happen where our ship was attacked by Vietnam torpedo boats. Maybe you get attacked and don’t do shit at all about it who is the real clown there?

                • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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                  2 months ago

                  The 6 day Israel-Arab war. A casualty was encourred and Israel pleaded it was an accidental casualty of war. They made concessions.

                  The gulf of tonkin. Not a casualty but a calculated attack.

            • prole@sh.itjust.works
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              2 months ago

              Ohhhh got it, only one false flag attack was committed by the US. That means the war in Vietnam was justified.

              To be clear regarding “false flag” operations for anyone unaware: this entails attacking our own military in order to provide spurious cassus belli to enter a conflict we had no valid reason to enter. In this case, a civil war on the other side of the planet, in a bay we should never have been in to begin with.

              How stupid does a person need to be to think that, not only was the war in Vietnam justified, but that the Gulf of Tonkin false flag incident is that justification?

              • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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                2 months ago

                Vietnam torpedo boats attacked our ship on August 2 1964. Deny that fact as much as you want. Our ship was in international waters when attacked. There were multiple justifications to get in that war I don’t really care to get into them. Tldr: We help our allies and protect democracy in the region.

                • pop@lemmy.ml
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                  2 months ago

                  We help our allies and protect democracy in the region.

                  LMAO. Your military protects interests of the billionaires and their economy. It has fuck all to do about democracy.

                  But keep guzzling whatever you already are, those braincells aren’t going to repeat propaganda by itself.

        • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Without America the Palestine people would have starved to death years ago. Their own Arabian brothers won’t even help them.

          Iran won’t help Palestine, but also Iran is the shadowy hand behind Hamas.

          Egypt won’t help Palestine, but the CIA/MI5 need to coup the elected government every decade or three when it gets to Muslim Brotherhood-y.

          Lebanon won’t help Palestine, but Israel says there are tunnels into Gaza from Lebanon so they need to start bombing again.

          Turkyie won’t help Palestine, but the IDF had to murder Turkish aid workers in 2010 to prevent their aid flotilla from reaching the shore.

          • Billy@lemmy.dbzer0.com
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            2 months ago

            So Palestinians are Hamas?
            Why is Iran not helping Fatah?
            Their support of Hamas is on ideological grounds. Israel is holy waqf land that belongs to Muslims and should be cleansed from Jews.

            Even when Egypt had sovereignty over Gaza they made sure to prevent Palestinians from going to Egypt.

            Tunnels from Lebanon… to Gaza…? Where’d you read that?
            Hezbollah begun bombing Israel in support of Hamas. They’re also funded by Iran (much more than Hamas though).
            Meanwhile Palestinians live in camps in Lebanon. Some of those walled and surrounded by watchtowers.
            They have less rights there than anyone else (including refugees and migrant workers), despite living there for 3 generations at this point.

            Turkey under Erdogan has been mostly hosting Hamas leaders while bombing Kurds in Syria.

            I don’t think much needs to be said about Assad.

            The only country in the area which actually helped Palestinians was Jordan. Although that also changed for a while after Black September.

            Most of UNRWA’s funding over the years has come from the EU and USA.

            • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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              2 months ago

              Israel is holy waqf land that belongs to Muslims and should be cleansed from Jews.

              That’s crazy because I’ve heard Israelis assert the exact opposite.

              Most of UNRWA’s funding over the years has come from the EU and USA.

              There’s a certain dramatic irony in funding UNRWA, paying Israel to bomb UNRWA, and then claiming you’re the only folks providing aid to Palestinians.

          • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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            2 months ago

            Iran won’t help Palestine, but also Iran is the shadowy hand behind Hamas.

            Your point being what? That they fund Hamas so they’re helping?

            Egypt won’t help Palestine, but the CIA/MI5 need to coup the elected government every decade or three when it gets to Muslim Brotherhood-y.

            Somehow Egypt helps them by having secret govt backed coups? Instead they could have just taken in refugees but why would they do that? They’ll just have a coup instead.

            Lebanon won’t help Palestine, but Israel says there are tunnels into Gaza from Lebanon so they need to start bombing again.

            So Lebanon helps the Palestine people by building tunnels where Hamas stored weapons and hostages?

            Turkyie

            I recall the Turkish police raiding those same charity offices accusing them of being linked to Islamic terrorists.

    • Snowflake@sh.itjust.works
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      2 months ago

      Do you ignore the majority of Palestinians support Hamas? It’s factual reality the majority of Palestinians democratically voted and elected Hamas which ran on a destroy Israel agenda. In reality they asked and started this war due to that election. It’s not because it’s so easy to say they are antisemitic it’s because it is factually correct to say it.

      • Linkerbaan@lemmy.worldOP
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        2 months ago

        Every sentence in your comment is another israeli propaganda lie. None of them are factually correct. Congrats on a new Hasbara record.

    • UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      I don’t understand why it’s so mainstream to equate Palestine with Hamas

      Decades of Islamophobic propaganda combined with a strong American economic interest in Israel might have played a role.

  • vga@sopuli.xyz
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    2 months ago

    What confirmation do we have that Microsoft did not have a good reason to ban this person? There seems to be just this single report going around the net.

  • Hotmailer@lemmy.world
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    2 months ago

    This is why America will crumble. In the USSR, the communist party was mostly Zionists. They’d purge the party from time to time and execute Russians in the party. They leeched on to America. They will leave when you are no longer relevant.

      • Hotmailer@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        I actually pity you. The BRICS have started a separate economic order. The world doesn’t want you anymore. Your economy is based on dollar hegemony. You’re all armed to the teeth. It’s gonna be wonderful.