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Tech for Palestine founder Paul Biggar invoked the false genocide claim against Israel at Istanbul’s TRT World Forum, alleging that Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Palantir sell technologies enabling it.
Although the forum’s sessions covered economics, energy security and AI, speakers repeatedly returned to Gaza, denunciations of Israel, appeals on behalf of Palestinians and accusations of genocide. The rhetoric extended beyond the dedicated Gaza panel into discussions of global leadership, technology and maritime trade. The same program included Turkey’s serving intelligence chief, his predecessor and the head of an academy established within the intelligence agency.
Biggar’s appearance, alongside other controversial and intelligence-linked figures, was previewed in Jewish Onliner’s October 21 report.
Allegations Against Israel Across the Agenda
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan outlined an agenda spanning energy, economics, AI and transport in his November 6 speech. He compared Gaza with the 1995 Srebrenica genocide, in which Bosnian Serb forces killed more than 8,000 Bosnian Muslim men and boys. He also alleged that what he called “settler terrorism” was intended to drive Palestinians from their land.
Erdoğan portrayed international institutions as passive spectators and accused press-freedom organizations of favoring Israel while attacking Turkey. They became a “paper tiger” when confronting what he called a “genocidal network,” he said. He also praised TRT for strengthening Turkey’s struggle for justice “on the media front.”
The organizers’ 2026 booklet described “Israel’s genocidal campaign” in its Gaza session introduction. That language built the accusation into the session’s premise. At that panel, former South African foreign minister Naledi Pandor advocated boycotts, sanctions and divestment.
Other Turkish officials reinforced that framing. In his opening address, communications chief Burhanettin Duran described Gaza as evidence of the international system’s failure and placed such gatherings within Ankara’s “forum diplomacy,” developed in line with Erdoğan’s vision. TRT director general Mehmet Zahid Sobacı declared, in remarks translated from Turkish, “Türkiye’s standard of rights and justice is TRT’s broadcasting standard.”
Biggar’s Pro-Palestine Advocacy Amplified on Turkish State Media
TRT presented Biggar through his technology credentials. Its biography highlighted his founding of CircleCI and Darklang alongside Tech for Palestine’s work incubating advocacy projects. His November 7 panel included technology executive Khaled Koubaa and Sycamore Foundation founder Sharif Banna.
Anadolu’s Turkish-language account, published November 8, quoted Biggar as saying, in translation: “These companies sell tools that enable genocide through digital technologies.” He promoted UpScrolled and Thaura as alternatives to established platforms. Tech for Palestine’s October challenge promoted projects helping users switch from Instagram to UpScrolled and from ChatGPT to Thaura, connecting its pro-Palestine advocacy to efforts to change which technology services people use.
Biggar’s allegations fit the broader Gaza GenoLIE campaign, extending the false genocide accusation into the technology sector as he claimed that major Western companies were helping enable it.
Intelligence Figures Amplify Ankara’s Pro-Palestinian Messaging
Turkey’s serving and former intelligence chiefs addressed the same conflict in separate sessions. İbrahim Kalın, head of Turkey’s National Intelligence Organization (MİT), addressed the Gaza session on November 6. The forum quoted him saying, “The struggle for peace, dignity and freedom in Palestine is, in fact, about reclaiming the moral and political order we have lost in a broken world.”
The genocide accusation also surfaced in a discussion of maritime trade. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan, who previously directed MİT for 13 years, accused Israel of expansionism and continuing “genocide”, according to TRT World’s English-language report of the session on sea lanes and trade corridors. As the preview reported, Fidan had met Hamas political bureau chief Khalil al-Hayya in Ankara on October 9.
Talha Köse, president of the National Intelligence Academy established within MİT, also spoke on energy security.
Jewish Onliner’s initial report also noted that the advertised speaker lineup included IHH-affiliated researcher Riad Domazeti and Russian analyst Ruslan Pukhov, whom Estonia’s Foreign Intelligence Service identified as an FSB agent.
Biggar’s Record Before the Forum
Biggar’s earlier statements had been documented before the event. As Jewish Onliner reported, his April 2024 blog post described Hamas membership as “not illegal or even wrong” and disputed reports of rape committed by Hamas during the October 7 terror attacks.
Jewish Onliner also documented a Tech for Palestine-promoted chatbot portraying October 7 as legitimate resistance and reported the group’s invitation to ISNAD founder Ezzeldeen Dwedar, examining his Muslim Brotherhood ties and statements in support of Hamas.
Biggar’s record was public before his appearance. TRT gave him a speaking platform at a forum featuring figures from multiple foreign intelligence services, and Anadolu circulated his arguments. His accusations reinforced the forum’s recurring pro-Palestinian messaging and claims that Israel was committing “genocide.” His campaign gained amplification through a state media platform whose leaders explicitly connected their work to Ankara’s political objectives.