Conspiracy Theory
Y Combinator CEO boosts ‘Soros’ conspiracy theory
Garry Tan veers off into alt-right conspiracy theory
Smear Campaign: Garry Tan embraces strategy of defamation and libel
The point: The “Voice of San Francisco,” the “parallel media” project run by Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan’s favorite local blogger, is resorting to false and defamatory attacks. Tan is boosting those attacks to his large X/Twitter following. But these desperate and legally perilous tactics underscore the shakiness
garry tan
Garry Tan and the violent edge in San Francisco Bay Area politics
Is this a case of 'Small Man Syndrome,' or something more sinister?
California Forever
'Solano Gap': California Forever scrambles to create a need
It's looking very, very bad for the tech billionaires' plan to impose a "utopia" city on Solano County. Can the project be saved?
California Forever
Miracle in Solano: California Forever unites Democrats and Republicans
The point: The California Forever project appears headed for a massive defeat in November. But the billionaires behind the proposed "tech utopia" have managed to pull off a true political miracle in 2024: uniting Democrats and Republicans – against their project. I got a sneak peak at more detailed
Fascism
San Francisco tech VC applauds fascist Pinochet's helicopter 'death rides'
The point: Local tech venture capitalist Lee Edwards – a vocal ally of Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan – publicly celebrated a fascist dictator's habit of throwing murdered political opponents from helicopters. It's the latest escalation of violent imagery and rhetoric from San Francisco's anti-progressive tech
network state
Balaji depicts California Forever as a Network State project
The Point: During a tech podcast last September, Network State leader Balaji Srinivasan appeared to confirm that the California Forever project in Solano County is, indeed, part of the cultish Network State movement. This could further complicate things for the project's developers, who already face strong opposition from
network state
Cool Gray City of Tech Authoritarians: Balaji's dark vision for San Francisco
Maybe you can literally have like the sovereign city of San Francisco and secede effectively ... if you have total control of the city ... maybe it's possible. – B.S. The Point: Like some mustache-twirling cartoon villain, the main tech figure behind the Network State cult lays out a "
garry tan
Psst, New York Times. The Network State cult hates you
What if [A.G.] Sulzberger is more like Keyser Söze? What if his employees are highly self-interested professional prevaricators? What if they've always been like that? – Balaji Srinivasan, "The Network State." The point: The New York Times profiled Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan, but failed to
Résumé puffing scandal sparks tech war on S.F. press
The Point: A candidate for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors got caught puffing up his résumé and – in a highly-anticipated escalation – billionaire-funded tech "mods" declared MAGA-like war on the San Francisco press. There may be a method to their madness. The Background: The story is simple and
doom loop
Fake deaths rock San Francisco politics
The Point: The line between truth and lies – and even life and death – gets blurry in San Francisco politics. Avoid hasty conclusions. The Backstory: It is a season of questionable obituaries in San Francisco. First there was Richard Parina, the elderly pro-police law-and-order activist whose sudden death sent SF'
san francisco
Macy’s, AI and the Anatomy of San Francisco's ‘Doom Loop’ game
AI ended San Francisco's Doom Loop. Then Macy's brought it back