USA Today Co. Employees Demand End to Palantir Partnership

More than 800 employees of USA Today Co., formerly known as Gannett, have formally requested the company terminate its recently established partnership with Palantir. This collective demand was articulated in a joint statement released on Monday by 31 unionized newsrooms affiliated with the company. The employees expressed significant ethical reservations about Palantir, whose artificial intelligence software has been documented for its use in surveillance initiatives and the enforcement of immigration policies. They argue that this collaboration creates an "inherent conflict of interest" because Palantir is a company whose operations are often a subject of the news that USA Today Co. journalists cover. Furthermore, the employees highlighted that partnering with Palantir could betray the trust of journalists who have faced harm, including assaults and false arrests, while reporting on immigration enforcement and protests.

The partnership was initially announced by USA Today Co. CEO Mike Reed during the company's second quarter earnings call on August 6. Reed presented the collaboration as a strategic move to enhance revenue generation by improving how audience data is collected, connected, and utilized for faster and more effective monetization across the company's platforms. Palantir's technology is intended to analyze customer behavior, a critical function given the ongoing decline in search traffic across the media industry. However, the unionized employees, predominantly journalists, contend that USA Today Co.'s stated commitment to First Amendment principles and its role in serving the democratic process is fundamentally at odds with a company like Palantir. They referenced Palantir's co-founder, Peter Thiel, who has previously expressed views suggesting a dichotomy between freedom and democracy, and pointed to Palantir's technologies being linked to human rights violations and surveillance activities.

The statement from the employees also noted that USA Today Co. provided "minimal details" regarding the specifics of its work with Palantir. This lack of transparency contributed to the employees' concerns about the implications of the partnership. The employees' union, The NewsGuild-CWA, publicly shared the news of the demand via social media on August 10, 2026. The employees' statement further elaborated on their ethical objections, stating, "We have significant ethical issues with Palantir, whose artificial intelligence (A.I.) software has been used to advance widespread surveillance and power immigration crackdowns." They believe the partnership "threatens to undermine trust in our news outlets and raises serious questions about the data security of our readers." The employees' collective action underscores a growing tension within media organizations regarding the use of data analytics and AI technologies, particularly when partnered with companies involved in sensitive areas like surveillance and government enforcement.