Report
Instagram ReelPolitics@Leo Tuckey5 sources
True, but exaggerated

Peter Thiel, Alex Karp and Palantir do the things listed. The reel turns lawful contracts, public quotes and data tools into proof of sinister evil with loaded terms like "AI killing software" and "illegally".

Why we say that

Palantir's real contracts and quotes are presented as proof it is evil.

All specific claims are backed by the sources. The through-line holds as a sharp attack on Palantir's work. The reel exaggerates by using alarmist language and skipping any legal, defensive or operational context for these activities.

Based on only a few sources, so read this as a first look, not the last word.

What it leaves out

The reel does not mention that Palantir's work with Israel, Ukraine, police and ICE is legal government contracting, often openly reported by the company.

Reported 14 Aug 2026

Claims

7 true · 5 unchecked

  • Couldn't check

    Peter Thiel said that he no longer believes freedom and democracy are compatible

    What's actually true

    Thiel wrote exactly that in a 2009 essay.

  • True

    Alex Karp has said that their product is used on occasion to kill people

    What's actually true

    Karp said exactly that in a 2020 interview.

  • True

    Alex Karp lobbies for the US to keep sending weapons to Israel

    What's actually true

    Karp has spoken out strongly in support of Israel and US involvement after October 7.

  • Couldn't check

    Palantir is one of Israel's main customers and gives them software that includes AI powered drone and airstrike targeting called an AI powered kill chain

    What's actually true

    Palantir has a major partnership with Israel supplying targeting software that integrates data for military lists. Karp has called similar work a "digital kill chain".

  • True

    Palantir supplies Ukraine with AI killing software

    What's actually true

    Palantir supplies AI software for targeting that Karp has linked to a "digital kill chain" and said is responsible for most targeting in Ukraine.

  • True

    Palantir ran a secret program with the New Orleans police to make a list of civilians who were likely to commit crimes

    What's actually true

    Palantir worked with New Orleans police on a risk assessment database that flagged people likely to commit or suffer gun violence.

  • Couldn't check

    LAPD used Palantir software to create a point system that ranked people based on how likely they are to commit crime and it disproportionately targeted minorities

    What's actually true

    LAPD used Palantir software for chronic offender bulletins that reinforced over-policing of Black and brown communities.

  • Couldn't check

    Palantir has been helping ICE for the last decade track down immigrants

    What's actually true

    Palantir has provided ICE with data platforms since 2013 to help investigations and create profiles.

  • Couldn't check

    Palantir made a case management system to create profiles for immigrants using private data from government databases and it is used on US citizens too

    What's actually true

    Palantir built systems like ICM that pull from many databases to profile people. The data sharing has included US citizens.

  • True

    In January 2026, Palantir made software for ICE called Elite that used Medicaid data to track people down

    What's actually true

    In early 2026, Palantir's ELITE app for ICE used Medicaid data improperly shared with immigration officials.

  • True

    ICE illegally gave Palantir Medicaid data of numerous patients

    What's actually true

    Medicaid officials improperly shared data on millions with ICE, which then shared it with Palantir.

  • True

    Palantir uses private medical records to deport people

    What's actually true

    Palantir's ELITE app uses the shared Medicaid data to help ICE locate noncitizens for possible deportation.

The full story, from the sources

I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible. - Cato Unbound (2009-04-13) But before 2012 with the New Orleans program, there is no publicly available record that Palantir had ventured into predictive policing. - The Verge (2018-02-27) The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) program... centered around an intelligence technique called social network analysis (or SNA) to draw connections between people... NOPD’s analyst would review the information scraped by Palantir’s software and determine which individuals are at the greatest risk of either committing violence or becoming a victim... NOPD did acknowledge... that they had created a 'risk assessment database' — a 'database of about 1 percent of the citys population who are more likely to be perpetrators or victims of gun violence. - American Civil Liberties Union (2018-03-15) Our product is used, on occasion, to kill people. - youtube.com (2020-05-25) Central to Operation Lasers success... was Palantir. The software... made it easier and faster for the department to create chronic offender bulletins and put together information from various sources on people deemed suspicious or inclined to commit a crime... reinforced harmful patterns, fueling the over-policing of Black and brown communities. - the Guardian (2021-11-08)

From primary sources · reporting

What else it leaves out (2)
  • Quotes from Thiel and Karp are presented without their full original context or the companies' stated national security purpose.
  • No mention of Palantir's public explanations, oversight, or any benefits claimed for the targeting or data tools.
How it's framed (4)
Angry wording - Repeated use of "AI killing software", "AI powered kill chain", "secret program", "illegally" to frame Palantir's activities as sinister and criminal.
Guessing at motives - Attributes evil intent to Palantir and its executives by highlighting quotes and controversial contracts without context on legality or stated purpose.
Selective presentation - Presents a rapid-fire list of negative associations while dismissing memes as understating the evil, with no counterpoints or official responses.
Images used to persuade - Uses a fast countdown timer on laptop screen synced to each accusation to create urgency and imply the speaker is rapidly uncovering damning facts in "deep research".
Sources (10)
[1]official document2009-04-13
Cato Unbound

I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.

[2]social2020-05-25
youtube.com

Our product is used, on occasion, to kill people.

[3]news report2024-03-13
CNBC

Karp said on Palantir’s earnings call last month he was exceedingly proud that after Oct. 7, within weeks, we are on the ground and we are involved in operationally crucial operations in Israel.

[4]news report2026-08-04
Al Jazeera

Following what Palantir described as a “strategic partnership” with Israel in January 2024, the company significantly expanded its operations supporting Israel’s military campaign in Gaza... Palantirs software integrates intercepted communications, satellite imagery and other datasets to help generate military targeting lists for Israeli forces.

[5]news report2024-02-08
TIME

Palantir’s software, which uses AI to analyze satellite imagery, open-source data, drone footage, and reports from the ground to present commanders with military options, is 'responsible for most of the targeting in Ukraine,' according to Karp... This is part of what Karp calls a digital kill chain.

[6]news report2018-03-15
American Civil Liberties Union

The New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) program... centered around an intelligence technique called social network analysis (or SNA) to draw connections between people... NOPD’s analyst would review the information scraped by Palantir’s software and determine which individuals are at the greatest risk of either committing violence or becoming a victim... NOPD did acknowledge... that they had created a 'risk assessment database' — a 'database of about 1 percent of the citys population who are more likely to be perpetrators or victims of gun violence.

[7]news report2021-11-08
the Guardian

Central to Operation Lasers success... was Palantir. The software... made it easier and faster for the department to create chronic offender bulletins and put together information from various sources on people deemed suspicious or inclined to commit a crime... reinforced harmful patterns, fueling the over-policing of Black and brown communities.

[8]news report2025-09-22
the Guardian

Palantir helps Ice with investigations... Both the Falcon app and another Palantir-built platform, Investigative Case Management (ICM), enabled Ice to access a network of federally and privately owned databases of peoples information... Palantir has provided ICE with systems like FALCON and Investigative Case Management (ICM)... since 2013... to create comprehensive... profiles.

[9]news report2026-07-17
NPR

Medicaid officials improperly shared data about millions of people with ICE, who then shared that data with the data analytics firm Palantir... Palantir operates an app called ELITE that is used by ICE agents to show the addresses of noncitizens who may be subject to deportation... After Medicaid officials improperly shared data about millions of people in January with immigration officials, ICE then shared that data with Palantir.

[10]news report2018-02-27
The Verge

But before 2012 with the New Orleans program, there is no publicly available record that Palantir had ventured into predictive policing.

About this account
  • Leo Tuckey (leo.taps) regularly posts critical videos about tech companies, surveillance and politics.
Notes on this check (6)
  • The video was downloaded and its on-screen text and visuals were analyzed.
  • Dropped 1 support citation(s) for "Peter Thiel said that he no longer believes freedom and d…" because the cited passages do not address the claim directly.
  • Dropped 2 support citation(s) for "Palantir is one of Israel's main customers and gives them…" because the cited passages do not address the claim directly.
  • Dropped 1 support citation(s) for "LAPD used Palantir software to create a point system that…" because the cited passages do not address the claim directly.
  • Dropped 1 support citation(s) for "Palantir has been helping ICE for the last decade track d…" because the cited passages do not address the claim directly.
  • Dropped 1 support citation(s) for "Palantir made a case management system to create profiles…" because the cited passages do not address the claim directly.

Checked against 5 sources · 14 Aug 2026

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