USA Today Co. has made a deal with software company Palantir to analyze and monetize user behavior, the company announced on Thursday.
In its Q2 earnings call Thursday morning, USA Today Co. chairman and CEO Mike Reed told investors he expects the partnership to “strengthen how we collect, connect and activate audience data to drive more effective and faster monetization across our platform.”
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USA Today Co. owns more than 200 local newspapers in the United States, along with its national daily USA Today. The partnership with Palantir comes as search traffic continues to fall — a challenge faced by publications around the world, and one The New York Times mentioned in its own earnings report Wednesday. USA Today Co. reported 158 million unique visitors in the second quarter of the year, down from 180 million in the first quarter.
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Palantir has been the subject of controversy in recent months for providing its technology to Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the U.S. Department of Defense, and the Israeli military. The company’s co-founder and chairman is Peter Thiel, the billionaire entrepreneur who funded Hulk Hogan’s defamation lawsuit against Gawker, leading to the publication’s ultimate bankruptcy and closure.
USA Today Co. isn’t the only media company to enlist Palantir’s services. Axel Springer — which owns Business Insider, Politico, Bild, and The Telegraph — and Fox News have also partnered with Palantir for its data intelligence tools. Thomson Reuters has also been linked to Palantir due to ICE’s use of Palantir software and Thomson Reuters data, 404 Media reported in March.