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CultureFading · day 7 ↳ Journalist Gil Durán Labels Silicon Valley Elite ‘Tech Fascists’ in New Book

Journalist Gil Durán Labels Silicon Valley Elite ‘Tech Fascists’ in New Book

A Guardian profile of Gil Durán, banned from X after calling Palantir's manifesto fascist, previews his book arguing tech billionaires have aligned with Trump's movement.

8 items1.4k engagement24 comments BlueskyMastodon
Journalist Gil Durán Labels Silicon Valley Elite ‘Tech Fascists’ in New Book
theguardian.com

Conversation activity · last 7 days peak 2/2h

Peak 2 items in one 2h at Aug 5, 12 PM; 8 items over 7 days Aug 5, 4 AM — 1 item · Mastodon 1Aug 5, 6 AM — no itemsAug 5, 8 AM — no itemsAug 5, 10 AM — 1 item · Bluesky 1Aug 5, 12 PM — 2 items · Bluesky 2Aug 5, 2 PM — no itemsAug 5, 4 PM — no itemsAug 5, 6 PM — no itemsAug 5, 8 PM — 1 item · Bluesky 1Aug 5, 10 PM — no itemsAug 6, 12 AM — no itemsAug 6, 2 AM — no itemsAug 6, 4 AM — no itemsAug 6, 6 AM — no itemsAug 6, 8 AM — no itemsAug 6, 10 AM — no itemsAug 6, 12 PM — 1 item · Bluesky 1Aug 6, 2 PM — no itemsAug 6, 4 PM — no itemsAug 6, 6 PM — no itemsAug 6, 8 PM — no itemsAug 6, 10 PM — no itemsAug 7, 12 AM — no itemsAug 7, 2 AM — no itemsAug 7, 4 AM — no itemsAug 7, 6 AM — no itemsAug 7, 8 AM — no itemsAug 7, 10 AM — no itemsAug 7, 12 PM — no itemsAug 7, 2 PM — no itemsAug 7, 4 PM — no itemsAug 7, 6 PM — no itemsAug 7, 8 PM — no itemsAug 7, 10 PM — no itemsAug 8, 12 AM — no itemsAug 8, 2 AM — no itemsAug 8, 4 AM — no itemsAug 8, 6 AM — no itemsAug 8, 8 AM — no itemsAug 8, 10 AM — no itemsAug 8, 12 PM — no itemsAug 8, 2 PM — no itemsAug 8, 4 PM — no itemsAug 8, 6 PM — no itemsAug 8, 8 PM — no itemsAug 8, 10 PM — no itemsAug 9, 12 AM — no itemsAug 9, 2 AM — no itemsAug 9, 4 AM — no itemsAug 9, 6 AM — no itemsAug 9, 8 AM — no itemsAug 9, 10 AM — no itemsAug 9, 12 PM — no itemsAug 9, 2 PM — no itemsAug 9, 4 PM — no itemsAug 9, 6 PM — no itemsAug 9, 8 PM — no itemsAug 9, 10 PM — no itemsAug 10, 12 AM — no itemsAug 10, 2 AM — no itemsAug 10, 4 AM — no itemsAug 10, 6 AM — no itemsAug 10, 8 AM — no itemsAug 10, 10 AM — no itemsAug 10, 12 PM — no itemsAug 10, 2 PM — no itemsAug 10, 4 PM — no itemsAug 10, 6 PM — no itemsAug 10, 8 PM — no itemsAug 10, 10 PM — no itemsAug 11, 12 AM — 1 item · Mastodon 1Aug 11, 2 AM — 1 item · Mastodon 1Aug 11, 4 AM — no itemsAug 11, 6 AM — no itemsAug 11, 8 AM — no itemsAug 11, 10 AM — no itemsAug 11, 12 PM — no itemsAug 11, 2 PM — no itemsAug 11, 4 PM — no itemsAug 11, 6 PM — no itemsAug 11, 8 PM — no items 2 items · 12 PM
Aug 6Aug 7Aug 8Aug 9yesterdaynow · 9:50 PM

Summary, timeline and people extracted by Claude from 8 items across 2 sources · 16h ago. Quotes are verbatim.

The Guardian published a profile of journalist Gil Durán ahead of his book 'The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy' (out August 18), in which he argues that tech billionaires like Elon Musk, Peter Thiel and Marc Andreessen have aligned themselves with Trump's Maga movement and adopted an ideology he calls 'tech supremacy.' The piece notes Durán was permanently banned from X in April after responding 'TLDR: Fascism' to a Palantir manifesto post, and the article circulated widely on social media with strong endorsements from readers and the author himself.

  • Journalist Gil Durán was permanently banned from X in April after responding 'TLDR: Fascism' to Palantir's 22-point manifesto, despite not violating written rules.
  • Durán's forthcoming book 'The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy' (out August 18) argues tech billionaires like Musk, Thiel and Andreessen have aligned with Trump's Maga movement to pursue an ideology of 'tech supremacy.'
  • The Guardian profile cites evidence including Musk's apparent Nazi salute, Thiel's 2009 statement that freedom and democracy are incompatible, and a Bloomberg report that 16 people tied to Thiel hold Trump administration positions.
  • The article was widely shared on Bluesky and Mastodon, drawing strong endorsement from readers, fellow writers, and Durán's publisher.

How it unfolded

  1. Reaction Article continues to circulate days later

    The Guardian piece kept being shared and recommended on Mastodon nearly a week after publication.

  2. Reaction Writers and publishers amplify the profile

    Fellow writers and Durán's publisher circulated the article, calling the forthcoming book 'gripping and urgent' and a 'major profile.'

    “his forthcoming THE NERD REICH is as gripping and urgent as they come, a staggering piece of writing that puts the bigger picture together”

    carolineeisenmann.bsky.social · Bluesky ↗
  3. Reaction Durán promotes the piece and upcoming book

    Durán shared the Guardian article on Bluesky, noting his book 'The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy' is coming August 18.

  4. Event Guardian publishes profile of Gil Durán

    The Guardian ran a long profile titled '‘If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future’: the journalist taking on the ‘tech fascists’ of Silicon Valley,' detailing Durán's argument that Silicon Valley has aligned with Trump's Maga movement and adopted an ideology of 'tech supremacy.'

    “If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future.”

    Gil Durán · Bluesky ↗
  5. 18 weeks quiet
  6. Event Durán banned from X after 'TLDR: Fascism' post

    Durán responded to Palantir's 22-point 'technological manifesto' with the words 'TLDR: Fascism' and was subsequently permanently banned from Elon Musk's X, despite not breaking any written rules.

  7. 65 weeks quiet
  8. Report Bloomberg reports Thiel network in Trump administration

    Bloomberg reported at least 16 men connected to Peter Thiel and his companies held positions of power in the Trump administration, including David Sacks as special adviser for AI and crypto.

    “In 2025, Bloomberg reported that at least 16 men connected to Thiel and his companies occupied positions of power in the Trump administration, including David Sacks, who is now a special adviser for AI and crypto.”

    umland.eurosky.social · Bluesky ↗
  9. 835 weeks quiet
  10. Event Thiel's 2009 essay

    Peter Thiel wrote that he no longer believed freedom and democracy were compatible, a line later cited as foundational evidence in Durán's argument.

What people are saying verbatim

“TLDR: Fascism”

Gil Durán, Journalist, in response to Palantir's manifesto · The Guardian · Mar 31

“It’s a cult of grievance that seeks to purge its enemies by demonising them through absurd and surreal propaganda that exploits fears over law and order and gender and sexuality in order to seize power and install a permanent hierarchy that fascists consider the moral order of the world and the universe.”

Gil Durán, Author of 'The Nerd Reich' · The Guardian · Aug 4

“Silicon Valley has gone fascist because they have adopted an extreme ideology of tech supremacy.”

Gil Durán, Author of 'The Nerd Reich' · The Guardian · Aug 4

“We’re going to be in the stars. We’re going to be in space. And all we need is to get rid of anybody who stands in our way as we seek to accelerate technology toward this speedy, violent, God-like transcendence that we will achieve if we can only burn enough energy and enough compute to bring our boom loop into existence.”

Gil Durán, Author of 'The Nerd Reich' · The Guardian · Aug 4

“I no longer believe that freedom and democracy are compatible”

Peter Thiel, Palantir co-founder · The Guardian (2009 writing cited) · Dec 31

“If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future.”

Gil Durán, Author, Bluesky post · Bluesky ↗ · Aug 4

“his forthcoming THE NERD REICH is as gripping and urgent as they come, a staggering piece of writing that puts the bigger picture together”

carolineeisenmann.bsky.social, Bluesky user · Bluesky ↗ · Aug 4

“In 2025, Bloomberg reported that at least 16 men connected to Thiel and his companies occupied positions of power in the Trump administration, including David Sacks, who is now a special adviser for AI and crypto.”

umland.eurosky.social, Bluesky user · Bluesky ↗ · Aug 5

Voices from the web unedited

  • If we don’t fight back, we don’t have a future. The @theguardian.com just published an amazing piece about my book, "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy." Coming August 18!

    gilduran.comBluesky6d ago737▲view on Bluesky ↗

  • Recommended reading https://www. theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2 026/aug/05/journalist-taking-on-tech-fascists-silicon-valley

    rikefranke@bagarrosphere.frMastodon · mastodon.social19h ago13▲view on Mastodon ↗

  • Thrilled that @theguardian.com has run this fantastic profile of @gilduran.com and his intrepid reporting on the hard right turn coming out of Silicon Valley-- his forthcoming THE NERD REICH is as gripping and urgent as they come, a staggering piece of writing that puts the bigger picture together

    carolineeisenmann.bsky.socialBluesky6d ago114▲view on Bluesky ↗

  • Great interview with @gilduran.com in @theguardian.com regarding his upcoming book on the rise of techno-fascism among Silicon Valley elite.

    rossmacfarlane.bsky.socialBluesky5d ago72▲view on Bluesky ↗

  • A major profile of @gilduran.com, author of the forthcoming THE NERD REICH from @simonandschuster.bsky.social is in @theguardian.com today!

    goldinagency.bsky.socialBluesky6d ago54▲view on Bluesky ↗

  • In 2025, Bloomberg reported that at least 16 men connected to Thiel and his companies occupied positions of power in the Trump administration, including David Sacks, who is now a special adviser for AI and crypto. @gilduran.com @theguardian.com @us.theguardian.com

    umland.eurosky.socialBluesky6d ago46▲view on Bluesky ↗