• TikTok has hired former Israeli intelligence agents, who are linked to surveillance & cyber warfare operations.
• Unit 8200 has been involved in mass surveillance of Palestinians and the creation of tools like Pegasus used to spy on global leaders and activists.
TikTok was proving to be far too Anti Zionist for the Zionists
TikTok has recently faced mounting pressure from U.S. officials, who accuse the platform of facilitating anti-Israel rhetoric. “TikTok is a tool China uses to spread propaganda to Americans. Now it’s being used to downplay Hamas terrorism,” remarked Republican Senator Marco Rubio. “TikTok needs to be shut down. Now,” he added.
Nikki Haley, another prominent Republican, claimed that each half-hour spent on the app makes Americans “17% more antisemitic [and] more pro-Hamas.”
The platform’s future remains in limbo, as President Biden approved legislation that could lead to a U.S. ban, though incoming President Donald Trump has suggested he does not support such an action.
This investigation is part of a series on TikTok, following previous reports that revealed the platform, rather than serving solely as a Chinese surveillance tool, has employed a significant number of U.S. national security officials to manage its operations.
In November last year, Actor Sacha Baron Cohen said that TikTok was ‘Creating Biggest Antisemitic Movement Since the Nazis’.
TikTok has enlisted a host of former operatives from Unit 8200, the Israeli Defense Forces’ (IDF) most contentious intelligence division. Tasked with covert operations, surveillance, and cyber warfare, Unit 8200 has been responsible for creating expansive digital surveillance systems targeting Palestinians, using AI-generated kill lists against Gazans, and developing global espionage tools aimed at politicians, activists, and journalists. The unit is also widely reported to have been behind the recent Lebanese pager attack, which resulted in significant civilian casualties.
Reut Medalion, a former intelligence commander at Unit 8200 who later headed its cybersecurity operations, transitioned to New York City following Israel’s attack on Gaza. She joined TikTok as a global incident manager for its trust and safety division. Given the geopolitical climate at the time, one might question the nature of the “global incidents” she is now overseeing at TikTok, especially in light of her background in intelligence and surveillance operations.
Omer Carmeli currently serves as TikTok’s global marketing manager, but his career trajectory was quite different in the past. Between 2004 and 2007, he worked as a field operations specialist with Unit 8200, participating in Israel’s 2006 Lebanon War and Operation Summer Rains, a four-month military campaign in Gaza conducted by the Israeli Defence Forces (IDF).
Silencing Criticism of Israel’s Abhorrent Genocidal Actions
It is important to acknowledge that the Zionist ongoing narrative to conflate anti-Semitism with anti-Zionism is increasingly backfiring. This tactic, which attempts to silence criticism of Israeli policies by labelling it as anti-Semitic, is facing growing resistance and is losing effectiveness in the face of nuanced and informed global discourse.
In February this year, a U.K. court ruled ‘The belief that Israel’s actions amount to apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide are ‘worthy of respect in a democratic society,’ an employment tribunal concluded in the landmark decision that Prof David Miller was unfairly discriminated against when he was dismissed by the University of Bristol over allegations of making antisemitic remarks.
Despite these developments, UK authorities have continued to arrest Palestinian activists and journalists, raising concerns about freedom of expression and the suppression of voices critical of the atrocities committed by the bloodthirsty Israeli regime.
Why has Unit 8200 proven to be so dangerous?
Unit 8200, the core of Israel’s repressive and cutting-edge surveillance infrastructure, developed technologies enabling the mass surveillance, harassment, and intimidation of Palestinians. It also created sophisticated tools for infiltrating foreign governments. Unit 8200 agents utilise facial recognition to track Palestinians and eavesdrop on conversations, often using gathered information for blackmail. The unit is responsible for Project Lavender, an AI-generated kill list targeting Gaza’s population, and the recent Lebanese pager attack, described by former CIA Director Leon Panetta as an act of terrorism.
Former Unit 8200 agents have also developed notorious hacking software, like Pegasus, used to spy on over 50,000 journalists, politicians, and activists, including world leaders like President Emmanuel Macron and Prime Minister Imran Khan. Known buyers of Pegasus include the CIA and the Saudi government, who used it to monitor Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi before his assassination. All sales of Pegasus required Israeli government approval, granting them access to data collected by foreign users of the software.
Unit 8200 agents past involvement in controversial surveillance activities raises serious questions about their roles in global tech companies, especially in positions with access to sensitive user data or influence over content moderation policies.
Social Media was the alternative to Bias Mainstream Media narratives
The merit of social media lies in its ability to provide authentic, unfiltered news, in stark contrast to the often biased mainstream media. However, the troubling infiltration of these platforms by networks with agendas aimed at distorting the truth is deeply disheartening. What was once a powerful tool for transparency and diverse perspectives has now become susceptible to manipulation, undermining its original purpose of delivering honest information.
Interesting to note, TikTok is primarily used by young people, with over two-thirds of its users between the ages of 18 and 34. Specifically, 34.8% are aged 18-24, and 34% are aged 25-34. Older age groups make up a much smaller portion of the platform’s audience: only 15.7% are aged 35-44, 8.1% are 45-54, and just 7.4% are 55 or older. Consequently, targeting TikTok as a priority seemed to be paramount to Israeli forces. This comes as no surprise given the results of a recent survey conducted by Israel’s Ministry for Diaspora Affairs. The survey illustrated interesting insights into the perspectives of American-Jewish teens aged 14 to 18: One-Third of Jewish American Teens Express Sympathy for Hamas, 66% for Palestinians.
