US tech giant Palantir is suing Swiss magazine Republik over an investigation that alleged the company has failed to secure government contracts in Switzerland. The lawsuit, filed in a Swiss commercial court, demands that the magazine publish a detailed rebuttal of its findings.
The investigation, a collaboration between Republik and the independent research collective WAV, was published in December 2024. It claimed that Palantir had persistently courted Swiss authorities—including the chancellor during the Covid-19 pandemic, the army, and former finance minister Ueli Maurer—but had been repeatedly rejected.
Palantir argues that Swiss law recognises a right of reply to correct what it calls 'material falsehoods' about its business. In a statement, the company said the article 'sets back important discourse on European software modernisation' and paints a 'false and misleading narrative'.
Journalists involved in the investigation, however, see the lawsuit as an attempt to intimidate. Marguerite Meyer of WAV said: 'It does feel like an intimidation campaign.' The journalists maintain they adhered to all journalistic standards and conducted a thorough fact-check.
Adrienne Fichter, a tech journalist at Republik, noted that this is the first time a story has portrayed Palantir with a 'failure narrative'. She said: 'They didn't get through and they were not good enough for Switzerland… That's why they're going for us.'
