CEO Satya Nadella's keynote address is interrupted by a Microsoft engineer who claims that the company is murdering Palestinians

This incident at Microsoft’s Build event highlights growing internal dissent related to the company’s perceived role in geopolitical conflicts, particularly the Israel-Palestine situation. Here’s a clear summary of what happened and the broader context:

What happened at Microsoft Build 2025?

During Satya Nadella’s keynote speech on Monday, an employee named Joe Lopez, who works as a firmware engineer in Azure Hardware Systems and Infrastructure, interrupted the event with a direct protest. Lopez accused Microsoft of facilitating harm to Palestinians, shouting:

• “Satya, how about you show how Microsoft is killing Palestinians?”

• “How about you show how Israeli war crimes are powered by Azure?”

He was immediately removed from the event.

Lopez’s follow-up internal email

Shortly after, Lopez sent an internal email explaining his protest, which was later published publicly on Medium. Key points from his message include:

• A refusal to stay silent about what he called Microsoft’s facilitation of “ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.”

• Criticism of Microsoft’s recent internal review and third-party audit claiming no evidence of misuse of Azure or AI technologies in the Gaza conflict. Lopez described this as a “non-transparent audit” that gave him no relief.

• Highlighting Microsoft’s admission that the Israel Ministry of Defense has “special access” to its technologies, questioning the nature and extent of that access.

• Stating that the world witnesses alleged crimes “live on the internet every day” and accusing a top Azure customer of committing crimes against humanity.

• Warning that boycotts against Microsoft may increase and damage the company’s reputation if it does not take action.

Broader context of internal protests

This isn’t an isolated protest inside Microsoft:

• Last month, Vaniya Agrawal, an Indian-origin employee, confronted Microsoft leadership at their 50th anniversary event, accusing the company of backing Israel’s “automated apartheid and genocide systems” through Azure and AI technologies.

• The day before Agrawal’s protest, another engineer, Ibtihal Aboussad, interrupted a Microsoft AI event during Mustafa Suleyman’s speech with the words “Mustafa, shame on you.”

Microsoft’s official stance

In response to rising concerns, Microsoft had published a blog post stating their internal and third-party investigations found “no evidence to date that Microsoft’s Azure and AI technologies have been used to target or harm people in the conflict in Gaza.” They also confirmed “special access” for the Israel Ministry of Defense beyond commercial terms but have not disclosed details.

Why this matters

• These protests expose tensions inside major tech firms over ethical responsibilities related to the geopolitical use of their technologies.

• Microsoft, as a leading cloud and AI provider, is under pressure both internally and externally to address concerns about how its technology is being deployed, especially in sensitive conflict zones.

• Employee activism is increasingly influencing corporate policies and public perception in the tech sector.