Palantir, a Surveillance Company, Has Released a Branded Chore Coat

Palantir sells surveillance systems to governments and militaries. The company released a navy branded jacket. A journalist considered destroying the jacket because wearing the company's logo seemed complicit with mass monitoring infrastructure. The jacket itself contains no sensors or tracking capability.

This is how capitalism converts critique into merchandise. The irony is noted by everyone. The irony changes nothing. People will buy the jacket. Some will buy it to signal awareness of the irony. Palantir will sell more surveillance systems next quarter. The navy color will not fade differently than ordinary navy.

The jacket will be worn to coffee shops. It will appear in photos on social media where it will be screenshotted and contextualized as a perfect joke. The company does not care if the joke is at their expense. The surveillance infrastructure expands during the conversation about whether to destroy the jacket.