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# The Idaho Far-Right Claims to be Opposed to Mass Surveillance
- URL: https://lower-case.ghost.io/the-idaho-far-right-claims-to-be-opposed-to-mass-surveillance/
- Published: 2026-10-27T14:40:49.000Z
- Updated: 2026-10-28T20:33:47.000Z
- Description: So why are they organizing with a guy that works for Palantir?
- Author: dotfuego

I've been tracking online disinformation for almost ten years now.

This started back in grad school when I found a small bot network on Reddit dedicated to spreading hate. It continued into the pandemic, when I made a personal project out of tracking and countering Covid-related disinformation on Twitter. And it continues today, as disinformation and conspiracies have come to dominate both the internet and our broader cultural and political landscape.

When Theo Wold first appeared on my radar, it was for this. I thought he was just another garden variety far-right influencer spreading hate for profit. I'm not sure if this is common knowledge, but when Elon Musk purchased Twitter he not only [changed the algorithms to boost outrage-based content](https://news.stanford.edu/stories/2026/08/social-media-for-you-algorithms-engagement-outrage?ref=lower-case.ghost.io), he also created a payment program so that people [could make money based on engagement](https://www.reuters.com/technology/twitter-offer-ad-revenue-share-select-content-creators-2023-07-13/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-e29954a8-c6d1-47eb-a479-072b9f533547.png)

A pretty typical Theo Wold social media post

If you’ve been wondering why the internet has gotten crueler lately, this is one of the big reasons. Making people angry gets their attention. It gets them to comment and respond to social media posts. And getting those responses gets more eyes on these posts and thereby boosts them on the algorithm. 

It’s a positive feedback loop that rewards and funds racism, propaganda, and hate. 

This has created a seemingly endless number of influencers ([many of which are not even based in the US](https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/nov/23/rightwing-influencers-outside-us-x-twitter-tool?ref=lower-case.ghost.io)) all vying to be as outrageous and cruel as possible in order to garner engagement and subsequent payouts. Elon's platform (now called X) has been credited for the [resurgence of the neo-nazi movement](https://www.thejc.com/news/world/verified-neo-nazi-accounts-flourishing-on-x-report-says-gzo2vqf6?ref=lower-case.ghost.io), for contributing to the [radicalization of a number of mass shooters](https://www.isdglobal.org/digital-dispatch/minors-exposed-to-mass-shooter-glorification-across-mainstream-social-media-platforms/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io), and for the entry of the term "ragebait" into the public consciousness ([and now the dictionary](https://www.merriam-webster.com/slang/rage-bait?ref=lower-case.ghost.io)).

So when I first saw Wold’s posts on X, I thought he was one of these guys. 

I was wrong. 

Theo Wold is something else. And maybe something that’s much worse. 

Theo IS a social media influencer. His posts have gotten considerable engagement in Idaho’s far-right networks. He's also worked for Raul Labrador, the Heritage Foundation, and most recently… Palantir. 

That’s right, one of Idaho’s largest Conservative influencers has actually been working for what is possibly the world’s largest surveillance company. The same one whose founder recently said that “[if you're evil, you're not bad … because you're at least getting something done](https://www.yahoo.com/news/politics/articles/fact-check-peter-thiel-said-110000053.html?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).” The same one whose CEO has said that “[\[Palantir\] is here to … scare our enemies and, on occasion, kill them](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/02/palantir-alex-karp-trump-private-prisons-profiteers/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).” And the same one that was [pitched to former Israeli PM Ehud Barak by Jeffrey Epstein](https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/explosive-audio-exposes-epstein-pitching-palantir-former-israeli-pm-ehud-barak-1775907?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-7af25e44-6565-4691-b1af-d4448b5add96.png)

"Theodore Wold is a Senior Counselor at Palantir Technologies..."

So what exactly does a Palantir-affiliated influencer talk about? What kind of messaging or greater strategy are they pursuing online? Thankfully, Wold is quite prolific on X. His posts provide some insight into this. 

Spoilers: it’s mostly racism, defense of billionaires, and Christian Nationalism.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-551d57cf-06f6-4594-ac99-58beafdd2482.png)

And this probably shouldn’t surprise us, given that Thiel has adopted much of the language of Christianity in an apparent attempt to [manufacture consent](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manufacturing%5FConsent?ref=lower-case.ghost.io) for his projects. He’s suggested that tech companies like his own might build a “machine god” and likes to accuse anyone that opposes him of being the Antichrist. Of course, when it was pointed out that he’s actually a pretty good match for his own definition of the Antichrist, [he struggled to find a response](https://x.com/golub/status/1938461457638719970?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-455acc10-4761-4dcd-8caf-91d9522640b0.png)

(from Gil Duran at the Nerd Reich)

But Wold’s connections don’t end there. He’s not just on social media. 

He was recently named to Hegseth’s Defense Policy Board along with other Thiel-associated politicians and tech billionaires like Marc Andreessen. One of these new members - Blake Masters - [ran a failed Arizona Senate Campaign that was largely funded by Thiel](https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2022/07/blake-masters-peter-thiel-donald-trump-arizona-senate-mark-kelly/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io). And Masters isn’t the only politician that has received long-term funding from Thiel. Our current Vice President has his [own extensive history with the tech billionaire](https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2024/07/16/jd-vance-and-peter-thiel-what-to-know-about-the-relationship-between-trumps-vp-pick-and-the-billionaire/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io) going back to his days at Yale.

So why are Idaho Conservatives associating with a guy that either works for or has recently worked for the “evil isn’t bad; haha we’re going to build a machine god” company? Why do they claim to be opposed to surveillance while boosting a guy that works for THE surveillance company? And what does a multi-billion dollar surveillance company that does everything from [tracking political dissidents](https://www.vice.com/en/article/these-videos-show-how-palantir-tracks-leakers-protesters-and-prisoners/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io) to making [kill lists for the IDF](https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/us-jd-vance-peter-thiel-founded-company-helps-israel-kill-lists-palestinians-gaza?ref=lower-case.ghost.io) want with Idaho?

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-7d948b2d-a4c9-4554-9ae5-50f70e1fb051.png)

I don’t have an answer to all these questions, but I think that I know the general strategy. They want power. And they want to divide us with culture war, conspiracies, and hate so that they can gridlock American Democracy and prevent meaningful legislation. Every hour we spend fighting about bathroom bills or chemtrails is an hour in which we can’t actually tackle the things that matter. This kind of political dysfunction preserves a status quo that overwhelmingly benefits them. 

In fact, it’s the same strategy recommended by Russian political philosopher Aleksandr Dugin to defeat Western Democracy, and the same one we saw Russian operatives implement to interfere with our elections in 2016\. 

From the Wiki summary on Dugin’s *Foundations of Geopolitics*: 

> Russia should “introduce geopolitical disorder into internal American activity, encouraging all kinds of separatism and ethnic, social, and racial conflicts, **actively supporting all dissident movements – extremist, racist, and sectarian groups, thus destabilizing internal political processes** in the U.S. It would also make sense simultaneously to support isolationist tendencies in American politics.”

They also want cheap land and water for their data centers. If you’ve read the news in the last couple of years, you may have noticed increasing fervor in the reporting about this. Data centers been known to poison communities, increase energy bills, and they don't actually contribute to local economies. What’s more, these are being pitched in concert with proposals for private nuclear plants intended to power these data centers (note: [Peter Thiel is also funding these](https://www.ft.com/content/6472a19d-0011-444f-a57a-3d11f143f291?syn-25a6b1a6=1&ref=lower-case.ghost.io)). At the same time, the federal government is trying to make deals [to use our land to store nuclear waste](https://idahocapitalsun.com/2026/09/29/some-idaho-officials-say-proposed-nuclear-waste-shipments-could-threaten-eastern-snake-plain-aquifer/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io).

Finally, I think they’re using Idaho as a laboratory to explore how Christian Nationalism might be used to further their interests. Don’t forget - Pete Hegseth’s pastor, Doug Wilson, lives here. This is the guy best known for advocating for the repeal of the 19th Amendment (which enshrines a woman’s right to vote) and for co-authoring a 1996 booklet [that offers a defense of slavery](https://www.splcenter.org/resources/reports/doug-wilsons-religious-empire-expanding-northwest/?ref=lower-case.ghost.io) on “biblical grounds.” He’s also a [self-described Christian Nationalist](https://www.npr.org/2026/07/06/nx-s1-5822558/pastor-doug-wilson-interview-pete-hegseth?ref=lower-case.ghost.io). This is particularly relevant here given that many of our politicians have taken to wearing the semi-official “Appeal to Heaven” flag of Christian Nationalism at their events.

![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/6c/5e/6c5ea728-2dc3-45a6-82d9-e93c36848ecb/content/images/2026/10/data-src-image-ab5783e7-e265-4500-88f7-44556fdcafc2.png)

As to what is motivating our own politicians - I don’t know. If they were just reposting Wold’s content on social media that might be one thing, but Wold has also been a guest at their events. At best, they didn’t know about Wold’s connections and were deceived and used as tools to broadcast hate and division. At worst, they did know, and despite their public opposition to surveillance, they have been working in concert with a representative of one of the world’s foremost surveillance companies. I do not know which of these things is true.

All I can say is that neither is good.

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