Palantir
Two episodes where Palantir staff crossed lines, and what the company said
RECORD / AT A GLANCE
Both admitted by Palantir
Both episodes are documented by Palantir’s own admissions. Neither shows Thiel directed them.
THE EVENTS / THE INVESTIGATION / THE STORY
Feb 2011
Leaked emails reveal a plan to attack WikiLeaks; Palantir apologizes.
2013–2014
A Palantir employee works with people at the firm.
27 Mar 2018
Palantir confirms the link.
READ THE FILE
A pitch to a bank, and an apology.
An employee’s side work.
Open an article for its evidence, labeled AI assessment and numbered sources. Read the complete static edition ↗
WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT THIS FILE
3 claims people make about this file, each rated documented, partly true, disputed, unproven or false. Think a rating is wrong? Use Dispute or Support, or join the Discussion.
Hacked HBGary emails showed it; Palantir cut ties and apologized, including to Glenn Greenwald.
Who says it: Forbes.
Karp apologized, including to Greenwald personally, after the HBGary emails.
Who says it: Forbes.
One employee did, “in an entirely personal capacity,” by Palantir’s own account.
Who says it: The Guardian.
OPEN THE RECORD
Numbered citations in each article identify the relevant sources. These records have different purposes and evidentiary weight.
Reproduces Karp’s statement and apology to Glenn Greenwald.
Reporting from the leaked emails.
Palantir: an employee engaged “in an entirely personal capacity” in 2013–14.
Second report.
Comment, dispute or support a claim, submit a source or rate this page through a short Google Form. It asks you to sign in with Google so we know you are a real person; your email is never shown. Nothing appears here until it has been reviewed. Conversation on X tagged #AIFiles #AIFilesThiel shows up below after the daily refresh.
Reader comments
On X
Posts from the daily snapshot appear here when JavaScript is on. You can read this subject’s threads on the forum: Forum: #AIFilesThiel.
Reader comments are shown only after review, and rows removed from the form’s sheet disappear at the next refresh. X posts are a read-only daily snapshot; posts deleted or made private there are removed at the next refresh. Inclusion is not endorsement. A submitted source stays pending review until a page update says otherwise.
A pitch to a bank, and an apology.
In February 2011 hacked emails from the security firm HBGary showed a proposal aimed at Bank of America to sabotage WikiLeaks, spread misinformation about it and pressure journalists who supported it, naming Glenn Greenwald. A Palantir engineer was involved. [1][2]
Palantir cut ties with HBGary and Karp apologized, including to Greenwald personally, “for any involvement that we may have had in these matters.” [1]
What we can’t tell you. The plan was not carried out as far as the records show.
Reproduces Karp’s statement and apology to Glenn Greenwald.
Reporting from the leaked emails.
An employee’s side work.
In March 2018 Palantir told The Guardian: “We learned today that an employee, in 2013-2014, engaged in an entirely personal capacity with people associated with Cambridge Analytica.” The Guardian saw emails in which the employee discussed replicating a Cambridge academic’s personality-survey work. [1][2]
What we can’t tell you. The employee’s full role is known only from emails and Palantir’s statement.
Palantir: an employee engaged “in an entirely personal capacity” in 2013–14.
Second report.
Approved reader comments and ratings appear here when JavaScript is on.