Il 15 ottobre un consorzio di giornalisti di diciotto paesi, guidato dalla testata investigativa olandese Follow the Money, ha pubblicato il primo resoconto di quanto l'Europa paga a Palantir: almeno 1,4 miliardi di euro. L'azienda americana ha uffici in quattordici paesi del continente e contratti con ministeri, forze armate e polizie nazionali in almeno undici.
https://www.valigiablu.it/palantir-europa-sicurezza-dati-sovranita/
@s1m0n4 Fyi: the octopus depicted in this context is part of an antisemitic trope
@ueb_team161 I linked an interesting article about Palantir being used by EU countries for budget of 1.4 billion €.
The picture was chosen by Valigia Blu and unfortunately I have no way to remove it from my toot, because it is rendered as article preview.
The journalist investigation explained by Valigia Blu provides many insights. It is not an antisemitic piece at all.
@s1m0n4 Gotcha, just wanted to hint towards the antisemitic character of the picture. Writing critical articles and unconsciously reproducing antisemitic tropes can co-exist
@valigiablu is there a specific reason why you included that picture for the article?
@s1m0n4 We are Italian, and the octopus (La Piovra) is a full-fledged trope about organized crime and collusion with the state. It is extremely deeply rooted in our history. The message we want to send is clear
@ueb_team161
@valigiablu Did you ever think of antisemitism being deeply rooted in Italian history too? If you‘re interested in learning more about the octopus as inherently antisemitic trope in economic contexts cf. page 5: https://antisemitism.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Antisemitic-imagery-May-2020.pdf
@s1m0n4
I personally think you both have a valid point, but it's a culture clash.
The octopus has long been the symbol of the mafia in Italy, ever since the movie "La Piovra" (= the octopus) came out and became a major success.
However, the octopus in the picture stands all over Europe, not just italy. And therefore it looks very similar the anti-semitic ideology pictures.
It's a bit like the case of the swastika being a symbol of good luck in hinduism.
It's also worth mentioning that 2 of #Palantir founders are Jewish, so this might further increase the misunderstanding.
@s1m0n4 It‘s not a misunderstanding, it‘s part of unconscious structural antisemitism (I say this without moral accusation and without trivializing the danger of Palantir) @valigiablu
@ueb_team161 have you ever watched the movie "La Piovra"? Do you know the cultural load it bears on Italian people?
We lost many judges, politicians and human lives to this criminal organization.
How can you be so sure the octopus doesn't imply a different meaning from antisemism in Italy?