The big tech defectors you’re not hearing about

Blood in the Machine

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The big tech defectors you’re not hearing about

After Tariq Ra’ouf spoke out about Apple’s treatment of Palestinians, he was fired. He joins a growing legion of overlooked workers protesting big tech, and he hasn’t stopped fighting.

Brian Merchant

Oct 23, 2026

Among the biggest stories in the tech world of late have been the string of high-profile resignations of workers at the major AI companies. Folks like Jacob Coxon at Anthropic have quit their jobs with splashy warnings that tech firms might build a machine god so powerful it exterminates humanity. Those workers get invited onto primetime news shows and weeks of high-profile media coverage.

And yet, those who’ve protested, resigned, or been fired for speaking up about the harms these companies are causing right now are given nowhere near the same treatment. This is maddening, especially because the AI companies are currently, as we speak, helping to automate, abet and facilitate mass death in Iran, Gaza, and Ukraine. We don’t have to speculate about some horrible future tragedy; the tech companies are directly involved in those tragedies, today.

This week, on Blood in the Machine, we talk with an employee who was fired from Apple after speaking out against the company’s policies regarding Palestine, and its treatment of Palestinian employees. Tariq Ra’ouf helped found Apples Against Apartheid, and on October 23, the launch day for iPhone Duo, the group calls on communities everywhere to picket their local Apple Stores.

There will be a newsletter edition this week, too; look for that Sunday. I am just, surprise, behind after spending the first half of the week in New York for the People’s AI Assembly and my good friend Paris Marx’s book launch. (Check out Hyperscale and pick up a copy here.) More soon, and hammers up.