Gil Duran

California journalist and writer. Ida Tarbell stan. FrameLab (w/@GeorgeLakoff). Beat: tech fascism, billionaire extremism, meta narratives, network state, mirror worlds.

Current Book: "Crime and Punishment" (reread)
Favorite Place: Library
Website: http://www.gilduran.com
Newsletter: http://www.thenerdreich.com

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Last Notes

2026-05-13 04:04:36 UTC

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Weird how it's all the same interconnected group of billionaires pushing the same concepts in different parts of the world simultaneously, in the exact same way. Surely just coincidence, amirite?
My California Forever piece was the 1st thing I wrote about the Network State. I did not realize it would be the next few years of my life.
You don't reach CF until the middle of the book. By the time you do, you know exactly what it is and where it comes from.

2026-05-13 04:04:29 UTC

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The very smart East Coast podcasters never seem to question why venture capitalists would give $900 million to a guy with no experience in real estate...to build a city from scratch...in a place where nobody wants it...in a way that actual developers say does not make any sense.
Also, Balaji Srinivasan said California Forever is a Network State project. So, there's that.

2026-05-13 04:03:35 UTC

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My book will contain more eyebrow-raising details about the project and its very curious and undeniable connections to the Network State cult.
For context: 70% of Solano County residents opposed the project, but the billionaires are going to force it on them anyway.
https://www.thenerdreich.com/solano-county-poll-republicans-democrats-california-forever/

2026-05-13 04:02:53 UTC

East Coast podcasters are pumping California Forever, the massive private city tech billionaires seek to build in Solano County.
But the project aligns suspiciously with a cultish dystopian movement to build so-called “network states.”
They don't mention this:
https://newrepublic.com/article/177733/billionaire-solano-california-tech-secession

2026-04-29 00:13:44 UTC

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This seems to be a concern for about .00001% of the population.

2026-04-25 14:11:50 UTC

Peter Thiel Flees To Argentina.
As Trump falters, the Palantir billionaire and Antichrist enthusiast buys a $12 million mansion and heads south for an extended stay.
Is he chasing prophecy again?
https://www.thenerdreich.com/peter-thiel-flees-to-argentina/

2026-04-24 18:30:47 UTC

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Pre-Order Here: https://www.simonandschuster.com/books/The-Nerd-Reich/Gil-Duran/9781668221402

2026-04-24 18:29:58 UTC

My first book, "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and The War On Democracy," will publish on August 18.
It tells the true story of how a small cult of venture capitalists embraced a grim prophecy in which technology will destroy the United States in the 21st century.
And they worked to make it true, pushing their ideas all the way into the core of the Trump regime.
My book is being published in the USA, UK/Commonwealth, Italy and Poland.
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/116/461/094/250/755/516/original/bbabfaecab345dd2.jpg

2026-01-03 23:08:52 UTC

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Account just got suspended.

2026-01-03 23:08:27 UTC

Please join me in reporting this fake George Lakoff impersonation account, which is spreading scam sites via@georgelakof@mastondon.social
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/115/833/625/488/869/029/original/b57150eec06555fe.png

2025-09-13 21:03:23 UTC

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The Antichrist Playbook: Peter Thiel & Silicon Valley Apocalypse Hype
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KegSMO9XcIY&t=460s

2025-09-13 21:01:27 UTC

On Sept. 15, Peter Thiel begins a secret four-part Antichrist lecture series in San Francisco.
What the hell is going on? Why all this Bible doom talk?
I talked to an Antichrist historian & a theologian about this outbreak of tech apocalypse hype:
https://www.thenerdreich.com/peter-thiel-the-antichrist-silicon-valley-apocalypse-hype/

2025-08-25 23:25:49 UTC

“We’re witnessing, in real-time, a profound consolidation of power and collusion among political and tech elites—the ruling class of this country, and the world—wherein the tools and technologies that this industry has built, and continues to build, can now be deployed in service of an authoritarian regime.”
Katie Drummond of WIRED, says the American press is failing to cover the rise of tech authoritarianism. And she has some suggestions for how to fix the problem:
https://www.thenerdreich.com/wired-editor-tech-billionaires-threaten-us-democracy/

2025-08-24 21:55:36 UTC

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That is sadly the name of the game

2025-08-24 18:43:02 UTC

Whether you like him or not (and I don't), Gavin Newsom is one of the few Democrats who understands that this is an Information War.
But can a Trump copycat save democracy? My thoughts on Newsom's journey from MAGA lapdog to resistance memelord.
https://www.theframelab.org/from-maga-lapdog-to-trumps-worst-enemy/

2025-04-03 04:15:01 UTC

Tech Fascists: We shall weaken the nation, destroy the economy, replace the dollar with crypto, replace people with AI, and create new Network State cities everywhere.
Normie Journalists: Folks, this is total chaos and incompetence with no structure or plan.

2025-03-25 17:49:19 UTC

Last week, a board member of Politico’s parent company blasted its reporters for alleged bias.
Meanwhile, Peter Thiel quietly invested $50M in the son of Axel Springer CEO Mathias Döpfner.
The younger Döpfner's nickname?
“The German JD Vance.”
Let's talk about it 👇
https://www.thenerdreich.com/politico-peter-thiel-problem-dopfner-jd-vance/

2025-03-07 16:55:31 UTC

The United States is evolving into an AI-controlled "Network State," says a respected military analyst.
Get ready for increased turmoil and "bursts of authoritarianism." https://www.thenerdreich.com/network-state-government-ai-tech-takeover-united-states/

2024-12-11 21:24:53 UTC

"While many initially suspected the shooter would be a Bernie Sanders-style leftist, Mangione’s social media feeds reveal an Ivy League...tech bro who disavows 'wokeism' & venerates Elon Musk; a former fraternity member equally as dedicated to AI as he is to psychedelics & self-improvement.
And so began the quest to label Mangione, to pin him down. Is he a tech accelerationist? A Dimes Square neo-trad fascist? A dirtbag anarchist?"
One subgroup comes out on top:
https://sfstandard.com/2024/12/10/this-one-internet-subculture-explains-murder-suspect-luigi-mangiones-odd-politics/

2024-12-10 18:58:57 UTC

Destruction Of Government (by) Elon.
That’s what DOGE really means. Say it!
A simple lesson on framing:
https://www.theframelab.org/destruction-of-government-by-elon-doge/

2024-12-06 06:09:22 UTC

We need a massive public communications campaign to warn the public about crypto.
It should highlight 1st-person accounts of everyday people who lost their money due to the #cryptoscam.
To strike crypto is to stab the heart of the tech fascist movement swallowing our nation.
To start with, we must make "crypto" synonymous with "scam."
The very word must make people reach for their wallets (to make sure they're still there).
Crypto is still small. Most don't trust it.

2024-11-07 02:07:05 UTC

Why did so many Americans lurch to the right over the last few years?
Hmm. It's truly a big mystery.
Anybody got any ideas?
ANYBODY?!?!
Here's one: Maybe activating these particular neural networks wasn't so dang clever after all.
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/113/439/222/584/390/657/original/e1c3f3c972b30430.png

2024-11-07 01:51:37 UTC

On the bright side, now the mainstream press will have no choice but to write about network states, algorithm warfare, tech fascism & the plan to replace everything (media, currency, education, government) with crooked crypto versions.
Right?!

2024-10-19 00:37:11 UTC

Stop me if you’ve heard his one before …
Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen, Curtis Yarvin, Elon Musk, J.D. Vance & the tech billionaire plot to merge with Trump and end democracy as we know it.
Plus all this terrifying stuff 👇
Gift Link to NYT Mag: https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/18/magazine/trump-donors-silicon-valley.html?unlocked_article_code=1.TE4.L0LY.jq1SUZUFf4pv&smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare&tgrp=ctr
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/113/331/285/300/352/327/original/c0ac7b55c30acc33.png

2024-10-07 16:07:23 UTC

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Crypto bros used to buy Lamborghinis as status symbols.
Now they want to buy their own countries.
A disturbing and anti-democratic trend — and Coinbase billionaire Brian Armstrong calls it “crypto’s destiny.”
https://newrepublic.com/article/185738/coinbase-brian-armstrong-crypto-lobbying-washington-politicians

2024-10-07 16:06:40 UTC

Reminder that Peter Thiel, Marc Andreessen and Sam Altman are building their own authoritarian “nation.”
They market it as “the next America.”
Something has gone very, very wrong in Silicon Valley. This is brazenly bizarre.
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/113/266/991/412/481/827/original/838cb7137d264b0f.png

2024-09-30 21:25:36 UTC

A “freedom” party founded by a former Nazi SS officer just won the most votes in Austria.
Among its winning message points:
-Anti-immigrant
-COVID conspiracies
-Global warming denialism
-Pro-Russia
-Anti-“woke”
Good thing this could never happen in the USA.

2024-09-28 16:42:55 UTC

Only 7% of Americans held crypto in 2023.
Yet crypto corps have become a major player in American politics, pointing a $200 million gun at this election.
It's bad enough when companies with popular products (like oil) do this. With crypto, we're being held hostage by a cult.

2024-09-15 20:37:16 UTC

Trump -- who says drug dealers deserve the death penalty -- promises to free the creator of Silk Road, an online marketplace for illegal drugs and guns.
Ross Ulbricht's case is a popular cause among crypto bros and libertarians.
For the San Francisco Chronicle, I wrote about his extreme anti-government views and why the Bitcoin drug kingpin belongs in prison.
Gift Link:
https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/crypto-silk-road-trump-19755604.php?utm_source=marketing&utm_medium=copy-url-link&utm_campaign=article-share&hash=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuc2ZjaHJvbmljbGUuY29tL29waW5pb24vb3BlbmZvcnVtL2FydGljbGUvY3J5cHRvLXNpbGstcm9hZC10cnVtcC0xOTc1NTYwNC5waHA%3D&time=MTcyNjQzMjUzODQxOQ%3D%3D&rid=ZDBhY2NhMjQtNzY2Ny00MWYzLWExNzktMGVmMjljNTdjNDE0&sharecount=NA%3D%3D

2024-09-11 20:25:34 UTC

1. Like "Pizzagate," the racist attack on Haitian migrants is a deranged conspiracy theory.
2. The main pusher of Pizzagate just wrote a book depicting Haitians as bloodythirsty killers.
3. J.D. Vance wrote the foreword.
Coincidence? Or strategy?
https://www.theframelab.org/jd-vances-racist-attack-on-haitians-is-strategic/

2024-08-19 19:56:02 UTC

The NYT ran a story depicting tech CEO Garry Tan as a paragon of mental health success (thanks to executive coaching).
One big problem: Tan recently made headlines for *tweeting “die slow” at San Francisco politicians while drunk*
But this crucial fact wasn’t mentioned. Why?
Tan’s death threat outburst in January undermines the entire premise of the story. So I wrote a request for correction…
More at The Nerd Reich:
https://www.thenerdreich.com/new-york-times-erases-garry-tans-die-slow-tweet-explosion/

2024-08-18 21:43:38 UTC

Thoughts and prayers!
https://theonion.com/elon-musk-rushed-to-hospital-after-attempting-to-impreg-1851106889/
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/112/985/201/342/564/953/original/1351eb79743dff18.png

2024-08-18 21:40:02 UTC

Peter Thiel is a dreadfully inarticulate speaker. But his writing is clear:
“I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible.”
This sums up the anti-democracy extremism in today’s GOP.
Power and privilege for the few, servitude and suffering for the many.

2024-08-08 15:58:50 UTC

"Others in San Francisco are calling it The Nerd Reich.”
The Hollywood Reporter examines the weird tech fascist plot to topple democracy:
“F*** These Trump-Loving Techies”: Hollywood Takes on Silicon Valley in an Epic Presidential Brawl https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/politics-news/election-2024-hollywood-silicon-valley-1235967050/

2024-08-07 19:26:16 UTC

J.D. Vance is a dangerous extremist.
Latest example: He enthusiastically promotes a book that uses *genocidal* language to stoke hatred toward liberals and progressives.
"Unhumans" grooms Republicans for civil war and, possibly, something far worse: https://www.thenerdreich.com/unhumans-jd-vance-and-the-language-of-genocide/

2024-08-07 13:28:31 UTC

J.D. Vance wrote a positive review of this book.
I just read it. Cover to cover. Full review to come.
But let me urgently reinforce the fact that Vance is a dangerous extremist…totally unhinged.
No sane politician would seek to connect himself to this murderous screed.
It takes a lot to still be shocked by anything in 2024. But this is a new low.
My review will post at http://www.thenerdreich.com
Subscribe for free to get it straight to your inbox.
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/112/920/969/999/098/271/original/ae1c0f6ab4a5d811.png

2024-08-03 15:40:35 UTC

The language of dehumanization — and of purging political enemies — has become popular on the extremist right.
At one time, praising a book like “Unhumans” might have ended JD Vance’s career. But incendiary beliefs are now a basic GOP qualification.
👉🏼 https://www.currentaffairs.org/news/the-horrifying-fascist-manifesto-endorsed-by-j.d.-vance
https://assets.journa.host/media_attachments/files/112/898/835/827/524/424/original/1f7c64d08903b6f9.png

2024-07-31 21:15:54 UTC

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12. Some people refer to these tech authoritarians as
"The Nerd Reich."
That's also the name of my newsletter on this topic. Please subscribe -- it's paywall-free!
Here's this entire thread in newsletter format:
https://www.thenerdreich.com/with-j-d-vance-on-trump-ticket-the-nerd-reich-goes-national/

2024-07-31 21:13:43 UTC

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10. This story by @npub1rj8…7fcn goes deep into the weird collection of ideas called TESCREAL. Many of these tech guys backing Trump have been working on this project for a long, long time. https://washingtonspectator.org/understanding-tescreal-silicon-valleys-rightward-turn/

2024-07-31 21:12:43 UTC

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9. Transhumanism is another -- a belief in merging with machines to obtain eternal life.
That's gonna sound pretty weird to fundamentalist Christians. . .
Lots of tech cults!
The tech billionaires behind Trump already have money. Now they want power -- to create their own countries, to change what it means to be human, to control the fate of the world. Their interest is mainly *ideological,* not economic.
Anyone saying otherwise has not done the reading.

2024-07-31 21:12:03 UTC

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8. For example, tech authoritarians see technology as being above God (if they even believe God exists).
As tech founders and investors, they see themselves as the top of the hierarchy -- the masters of the universe. These beliefs have resulted in some strange sub-cults...
The Network State is one sub-cult -- the idea of replacing existing countries with tech-run countries.

2024-07-31 21:11:24 UTC

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7. This is not an exhaustive list. But you can see here how many of the tech authoritarian goals align with MAGA.
Antipathy toward taxes and regulations may be the root of their alliance, but there are many branches. But there are key ways in which tech diverges from MAGA...

2024-07-31 21:10:28 UTC

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6. MAGA/Tech overlaps:
- Collapse. They believe in an impending societal collapse.
- Messiah complex. They believe they alone can save humanity. They "alone can fix it."
- Supremacy. They share a believe in the supremacy of rich white (mostly straight) males over everyone else.
- Anti-Empathy. They abhor empathy/care.
- Anti-Public. They detest the idea of the public and seek to privatize most functions of government.
- Anti-Worker. They believe employers are superior to employees.

2024-07-31 21:09:44 UTC

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5. Most newspaper analyses suggest that these tech authoritarian guys just want lower taxes and friendly regulations, but that's only part of the story. They have developed their own weird sci-fi influenced tech authoritarian IDEOLOGY.
It overlaps with MAGA in multiple ways...

2024-07-31 21:09:17 UTC

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4. JD Vance is ONE OF THEM. Vance was literally put on Trump's ticket by the same group of people - Peter Thiel, David Sacks, Elon Musk, Marc Andreessen - who are behind all of the weirdness I've been writing about. https://newrepublic.com/article/183971/jd-vance-weird-terrifying-techno-authoritarian-ideas

2024-07-31 21:08:52 UTC

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3. They want to punish Democrats in weird ways. One of their main influencers has suggested that tech bros should form a "gray tribe," purge Democrats from San Francisco and build statues to remind people of how bad Democrats supposedly are... https://newrepublic.com/article/180487/balaji-srinivasan-network-state-plutocrat

2024-07-31 21:08:12 UTC

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#2. They want control over existing governments. In addition to building weirdo colonies, they're also trying to capture existing governments. In San Francisco, a group of these tech zillionaires is trying to win control of City Hall ...(and now, by supporting Trump, they want control of the USA!) https://newrepublic.com/article/178675/garry-tan-tech-san-francisco

2024-07-31 21:07:36 UTC

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#1: They despise democracy. These Trump-loving billionaires believe democracy is bad. They want to create their own corporate dictatorships called Network States. They are actively trying to build these weird little dictator cities all over the world.https://newrepublic.com/article/177733/billionaire-solano-california-tech-secession

2024-07-31 21:06:42 UTC

🧵 I've spent this year writing for the [@newrepublic](https://threads.net/@newrepublic/ ) about how a group of Silicon Valley billionaires has gone WEIRD. Now their weirdness is mating up with Trump's MAGA weirdness in the 2024 election.
Here's a few things to understand about these guys: