Gil Duran

Gil Duran (born 1976) is an American journalist and author based in San Francisco. He started his journalism career at the San Jose Mercury News in 1998. He has served as editorial page editor of The San Francisco Examiner and California opinion editor of The Sacramento Bee, overseeing strategy for McClatchy's five California news organizations.

In government, Duran served as communications director for Kamala Harris during her tenure as California Attorney General, press secretary for California Governor Jerry Brown, and communications director for U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Now an independent journalist, Duran publishes "The Nerd Reich," a newsletter documenting the rise of extremist tech politics — tracing how a small group of Silicon Valley moguls, influenced by thinkers like Curtis Yarvin, are advancing anti-democratic ideologies he calls "tech fascism." His forthcoming book, "The Nerd Reich: Silicon Valley Fascism and the War on Democracy" (Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster), expands on this reporting.

Duran was born in Tulare, California, the grandson of Mexican immigrant farmworkers.