Palantir Is Going on Defense

Palantir, dealing with mounting public scrutiny for its work with the Trump administration, took an more and more defensive stance towards journalists and perceived critics this week, each at a protection convention in Washington, DC, and on social media.

On Tuesday, a Palantir worker threatened to name the police on a WIRED journalist who was watching software program demonstrations at its sales space at AI+ Expo. The convention, which is hosted by the Particular Aggressive Research Undertaking, a assume tank based by former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, is free and open to the general public, together with journalists.

Later that day, Palantir had convention safety take away at the very least three different journalists—Jack Poulson, author of the All-Supply Intelligence Substack; Max Blumenthal, who writes and publishes The Grayzone; and Jessica Le Masurier, a reporter at France 24—from the convention corridor, Poulson says. The reporters had been later capable of reenter the corridor, Poulson provides.

The transfer got here after Palantir spokespeople started publicly condemning a recent New York Times report titled “Trump Faucets Palantir to Compile Knowledge on People” revealed on Might 30. WIRED previously reported that Elon Musk’s so-called Division of Authorities Effectivity (DOGE) was constructing a grasp database to surveil and monitor immigrants. WIRED has additionally reported that the corporate was serving to DOGE with an IRS knowledge undertaking, collaborating to construct a “mega-API.”

The general public criticism from Palantir is uncommon, as the corporate doesn’t usually challenge statements pushing again on particular person information tales.

Previous to being kicked out of Palantir’s sales space, the WIRED journalist, who can be the writer of this text, was taking pictures, movies, and written notes throughout software program demos of Palantir FedStart companions, which use the corporate’s cloud techniques to get licensed for presidency work. The sales space’s partitions had phrases like “REAWAKEN THE GIANT” and “DON’T GIVE UP THE SHIP!” printed on the skin. When the reporter briefly stepped away from the sales space and tried to re-enter, she was stopped by Eliano Younes, Palantir’s head of strategic engagement, who mentioned that WIRED was not allowed to be there. The reporter requested why, and Younes repeated himself, including that if WIRED tried to return, he would name the police.

After the convention ended, Younes responded to a photograph from the convention that the reporter posted on X. “hey caroline, nice seeing you on the expo yesterday,” he wrote. “cannot wait to learn your protection of the occasion.” Palantir didn’t reply to WIRED’s request for remark.

Poulson tells WIRED that he, Blumenthal, and Le Masurier had been additionally watching demos at Palantir’s sales space previous to being kicked out. After a Tuesday panel with Younes and Palantir engineer Ryan Fox, Poulson says Le Masurier approached Younes close to Palantir’s sales space and requested in regards to the firm’s work for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement. A Palantir worker stepped between them and claimed that Palantir had requested her to go away “a number of instances,” in keeping with a video of the interplay considered by WIRED, and she or he was escorted out of the convention corridor shortly after.