Nadine Osman
TikTok is facing backlash following its appointment of a former Israeli army instructor and US State Department contractor to oversee the platform’s hate speech policy in the US.
The company confirmed Erica Mindel’s hiring to Jewish Insider on July 28. Her new role, listed as Public Policy Manager, Hate Speech, at TikTok, puts her at the forefront of shaping the App’s hate speech policies, especially regarding antisemitism. According to TikTok’s job description, she will develop policy, analyse hate speech trends, and influence legislative and regulatory frameworks.
Before joining the State Department, Mindel served as an instructor in the Israeli army’s Armoured Corps within the spokesperson’s unit. In a podcast interview with the American Jewish Committee, she said she had voluntarily enlisted and served for two years.
Mindel most recently worked under US special envoy Deborah Lipstadt, who leads the Biden administration’s efforts to monitor and combat antisemitism.
TikTok’s decision has drawn sharp criticism on social media, where users accused the company of suppressing pro-Palestinian content and yielding to lobbying pressure.
According to Dan Granot, the Anti-Defamation League’s (ADL) national director of antisemitism policy, the new role emerged following a high-level policy summit last year. “It was a key recommendation for all social media platforms,” Granot said, noting that the ADL played a central role in coordinating the event.
The ADL celebrated Mindel’s appointment in a post on X (formerly Twitter), signalling strong support for TikTok’s move. However, critics argue that the ADL’s influence has compromised the platform’s objectivity.
Last year, Wikipedia’s editors formally declared the ADL a “generally unreliable” source on Israel-Palestine and antisemitism, adding the organisation to a list of banned references due to what editors described as its consistent bias. The ADL has faced scrutiny for labelling Palestinian rights advocacy as antisemitism and for collaborating with US law enforcement to surveil Arab American groups. The organisation has also facilitated police training trips to Israel, further fuelling controversy.
Many online users voiced concern that TikTok is “submitting to pressure” from the ADL, with some suggesting the platform is “complying with these censorship demands to try and stave off a ban” in the US.
In 2024, the US Congress passed a bill requiring TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to sell the platform to an American entity or face a nationwide ban. The bill cleared the House in a 352-65 vote. Although the App was briefly banned, the decision was reversed by President Donald Trump the day after he returned to office in January.
In February, Congressional sources revealed that concern over Israel’s image on TikTok, not fears of Chinese data breaches, was a key driver behind the push for a ban.
On 23 July, US Representatives Josh Gottheimer (D-NJ) and Don Bacon (R-NE), together with ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt, reintroduced the STOP HATE Act—a bill aimed at combating antisemitism on social media platforms such as TikTok.
Prominent US figures, including Republican Senator and former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, have criticised TikTok over what they perceive as the platform’s amplification of pro-Palestinian narratives.
With Mindel now at the helm of TikTok’s hate speech policy, advocates and critics alike are closely watching whether the platform will shift its approach to political speech, especially content related to Israel and Palestine.
Photo: Erica Mindel. (Credit: screenshot)
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