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As tech companies go, the surveillance giant Palantir plays it looser than most. Specializing in deadly military targeting software<\/a> and domestic police technology<\/a>, Palantir isn\u2019t afraid to lean into the reactionary, dystopian schtick.<\/p>\n That\u2019s not an exaggeration. In a since-deleted post on X-formerly-Twitter, Palantir\u2019s head of \u201cstrategic engagement\u201d Eliano Younes shared an AI-generated propaganda video depicting the company logo surrounded by cult imagery, bloody crosses, and the grim reaper.<\/p>\n While the edgy ragebait is part-and-parcel of Palantir\u2019s favored type of marketing material, the video evidently ruffled some feathers, exposing a deep cultural rift within one of the largest military tech firms in the world.<\/p>\n Speaking to the Financial Times<\/a>, one former staffer explained that the incident caused the company to have an \u201cabsolute internal meltdown.\u201d<\/p>\n Per the employee, a debate quickly overtook the company\u2019s internal messaging channels, where workers reportedly expressed their outrage out in the open.<\/p>\n \u201cYou had people being like: \u2018my customer is a children\u2019s hospital \u2014 how am I supposed to explain this to them?’\u201d the staffer recalled.<\/p>\n It\u2019s not the first time the company\u2019s leadership has alienated its rank and file. Earlier this year, Palantir workers registered their disgust with the company\u2019s collaboration<\/a> with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n After the murder of anti-ICE activists Renee Good and Alex Pretti in Minneapolis, one employee took to Palantir\u2019s message boards to declare<\/a> that \u201cin my opinion ICE are the bad guys. I am not proud that the company I enjoy so much working for is part of this.\u201d<\/p>\n Politically, it all reads a bit like Mordor\u2019s orcs registering HR complaints about Sauron\u2019s management style. The objection is noted, but you\u2019re still helping the guy conquer Middle Earth; Palantir, after all, is named after a fictional orb in JRR Tolkien\u2019s \u201cLord of the Rings<\/a>\u201d that corrupts anyone foolish enough to peer into it. <\/p>\n