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Tech billionaires, AstroTurfing and a sophisticated information war explains the Bay Area's rightward drift, Dean Preston says

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 16h

@deanpreston.bsky.social on solving SF homelessness in today's Hard Reset:

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 17h

"The only reason Thiel gets listened to by anyone is because of his money. If he were saying this stuff on a street corner, someone would be calling the police" 😂

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/tech-billi...

One of the most prominent progressives in the city, the former SF supervisor talks about how the left has lost the messaging game in recent years — but says he believes the tide is turning.

Tech billionaires, AstroTurfing and a sophisticated information war explains the Bay Area's rightward drift, Dean Preston says

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 17h

NEW - @elirosenberg.bsky.social spoke with @deanpreston.bsky.social about how tech billionaires pushed a progressive bastion rightward through AstroTurfing and a sophisticated information war.

Read free now, no paywall: www.hardresetmedia.com/p/tech-billi...

One of the most prominent progressives in the city, the former SF supervisor talks about how the left has lost the messaging game in recent years — but says he believes the tide is turning.

Q&A: The Man Whose Model Predicted The Mess We’re In

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Reposted by Hard Reset

leahleszczynski.bsky.social @leahleszczynski.bsky.social · 6d

Brilliant piece. Thank you!

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

Latest from Hard Reset - @elirosenberg.bsky.social spoke with @jgoldstone.bsky.social about the "rise of the selfish elites" and predicting our current political moment:

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/q-and-a-th...

Jack A. Goldstone was dismissed when he theorized, more than 30 years ago, that rising inequality could make the U.S. vulnerable to political chaos. He wishes he hadn’t been vindicated.

Opinion | There Are Two Economies: A.I. and Everything Else

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 2d

Thought the parts of this on labor productivity growth in 90s and British railway mania in the 1800s were particularly interesting:

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/06/o...

www.nytimes.com

A searing look at the rise of Silicon Valley's far right. Out October 2025.

Reposted by Hard Reset

Jacob Silverman @jacobsilverman.com · 2d

It's pub day for my book, "Gilded Rage: Elon Musk and the Radicalization of Silicon Valley," which chronicles the rise of the tech right and their role in the 2024 election. Thanks to everyone who helped along the way.
linktr.ee/gildedrage

Gilded Rage | Linktree

linktr.ee

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Reposted by Hard Reset

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 15d

Now more than ever, tech needs a hard reset. So we’re recognizing those using technology to create a better world with the first-ever Hard Reset Awards.

Submit your nominations right here in the comments, or as a comment on the post! Categories to follow...

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/announcing...

Announcing the Hard Reset Awards: Submit your nominations now

Recognizing the companies and individuals using technology for a better world

Ex-Meta, Uber policy lead on leaving Big Tech

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 3d

We spoke with @jenawuu.bsky.social, ex-Meta and Uber policy lead, on her experience working in those companies, what drove her to leave the tech world, and how she's changing things from the outside: www.hardresetmedia.com/p/ex-meta-ub...

Jena Wuu pioneered safety programs at Uber and media literacy initiatives at Meta. Today, she's changing things from the outside, and finding a voice of her own.

The calculation an ex-Microsoft engineer made to predict Palestinian deaths

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 3d

So much has changed just in the months since we interviewed Hossam Nasr (www.hardresetmedia.com/p/the-calcul...) as the pressure that he and others put on Microsoft led to a real, concrete win.

A former software engineer at Microsoft was fired for organizing a candlelight vigil. Here's what he thinks about how incentives now need to change.

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 3d

This Vercel situation is another interesting point of evidence in our question of "Will Big Tech follow public opinion on Gaza?" (www.hardresetmedia.com/p/will-big-t...)

The incredible arrogance of OpenAI

Reposted by Hard Reset

Brian Merchant @bcmerchant.bsky.social · 3d

OpenAI's Sora gambit is somehow even more reckless and arrogant than we've grown accustomed to with the company. OpenAI is betting that it can spit in the face of creatives, workers, and the largest media companies on the planet—and bend copyright law to its whims.

With Sora 2, OpenAI is betting it can spit in the face of workers, creators, and the biggest media conglomerates on the planet — and win

www.bloodinthemachine.com

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 3d

We tried to cover that in this piece on the fallout: www.hardresetmedia.com/p/a-selfie-w...

A selfie with Netanyahu turns into an employee and customer exodus

Employee resignations from AI coding startup Vercel may signal a changing tide in the tech industry's attitude towards the war in Gaza

A selfie with Netanyahu turns into an employee and customer exodus

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Reposted by Hard Reset

Anil Dash @anildash.com · 8d

Within the industry, the only narrative that many hear are the loud voices of the hard-right CEOs who have taken over all the media channels, but the actual individual workers are still having huge impact and are still the ones who actually make things happen. Be sure to amplify that reality.

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 3d

"What’s changed with the #Vercel example...is that there’s a certain level of boldness and freeness to those who are leaving and making their departure known."

- @aristeinhorn.bsky.social for Hard Reset:

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/a-selfie-w...

#ai #gaza

Employee resignations from AI coding startup Vercel may signal a changing tide in the tech industry's attitude towards the war in Gaza

Tech workers are resigning, and not afraid of being blacklisted

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 6d

FYI we interviewed one of them:

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/leaving-or...

"A few hours later, I got a call from HR who told me “we can see you’re distressed.” They recommended that I go on sick leave and see a doctor, since I did use the word “distressed” in my email to Catz."

Sparked in large part by the Israel-Palestine conflict, employees at large tech companies are leaving. What's next?

Q&A: The Man Whose Model Predicted The Mess We’re In

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

Read the full interview now at Hard Reset: www.hardresetmedia.com/p/q-and-a-th...

Jack A. Goldstone was dismissed when he theorized, more than 30 years ago, that rising inequality could make the U.S. vulnerable to political chaos. He wishes he hadn’t been vindicated.

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

So how do you deal with the "long-term trends of inequality and diminishing social mobility that have been a pressure cooker for anger and grief"?

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Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

And it's no coincidence that we are finding ourselves in government shutdown at the moment:

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

The model developed by @jgoldstone.bsky.social and Peter Turchin is clear: inequality creates instability,
"showing us at the greatest risk of political crisis since the lead-up to the Civil War"

Q&A: The Man Whose Model Predicted The Mess We’re In

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 7d

Latest from Hard Reset - @elirosenberg.bsky.social spoke with @jgoldstone.bsky.social about the "rise of the selfish elites" and predicting our current political moment:

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/q-and-a-th...

Jack A. Goldstone was dismissed when he theorized, more than 30 years ago, that rising inequality could make the U.S. vulnerable to political chaos. He wishes he hadn’t been vindicated.

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 8d

"If we’ve learned anything from the taxi industry, it’s that disruption doesn’t just move fast and break things. It leaves people broken unless someone intervenes."

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 8d

When the debt crisis in New York City pushed medallion owners to the brink, members of the New York Taxi Workers Alliance launched a hunger strike in 2021. Then-Assemblymember @zohrankmamdani.bsky.social joined them, refusing food for fifteen days. The pressure worked.

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 8d

Marcelo insists he and his colleagues aren’t anti-technology. “We’re not here opposing tech,” he said. “We’re here to oppose Uber, Lyft, and Waymo not paying into the licensing system cab drivers have to. We don’t oppose the model. We oppose the unfairness of it.”

The nature of work is changing. Taxi drivers were the first to sound the alarm

Hard Reset @hardresetmedia.com · 8d

NEW - @michaelredmondsf.bsky.social spoke with Marcelo Fonseca, a cab driver of more than thirty years, to talk about his experience, where companies and policymakers went wrong, and why people working in tech today should pay close attention to his story:

www.hardresetmedia.com/p/the-nature...

Move fast and break things.