Talk:Garry Tan

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Twitter blocks

This person has created a massive list of blocked Twitter accounts - see the thread announcing his promotion at Y Combinator in which poster after poster declares they've never even heard of the man and he's blocked them (this writer included): https://twitter.com/sama/status/1564256564180951040

Has anyone run across well-sourced material that discusses this? Definitely seems notable. 24.130.98.87 (talk) 06:24, 30 August 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Chinese name

@SriTribhuvana is there a source of the Chinese name that you added? https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Garry_Tan&oldid=1121146934 🌊PacificDepths^talk|contrib 09:16, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Yes. https://twitter.com/garrytan SriTribhuvana (talk) 13:04, 11 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

@SriTribhuvana can we find a reliable source (not Twitter) to satisfy WP:RS? 🌊PacificDepths^talk|contrib 03:29, 13 November 2022 (UTC)[reply]

Garry’s Tan bio to be updated, given he’s been heading Y Combinator for > 8 months now.

I know Garry personally, so I only updated his title in the lead paragraph with a citation. Because his title was coming up wrong in the Google Knowledge Panels. Someone else should probably go through and actually update update. There is a lot in the news. Jenny8lee (talk) 07:10, 24 August 2023 (UTC)[reply]

Overreliant on Gil Duran

This article is reliant on Gil Duran quotes to push a non-neutral POV hostile to Tan. If we have any kind of normative analysis of him, it should be in its own section, with a variety of sources. Hi! (talk) 08:35, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

To centralize discussion, please comment under existing discussion at WP:NPOVN#Garry Tan and Balaji Srinivasan. Thank you. Rotideypoc41352 (talk · contribs) 19:15, 1 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

YC leadership update

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest has now been answered.

Hello, page watchers. On behalf of the firm AI Training Inc., which has an interest in the quality of this page, I would like to propose a short addition that uses Forbes (staff) reporting on Tan's moves as president of YC. Following the current final sentence of the Career section, I propose to add:

As president, Tan restructured Y Combinator’s investment operations by winding down its Continuity Fund and transferring follow-on investment decisions to group partners. He also initiated a consolidated fundraising effort with a stated goal of raising $2 billion across new funds.<ref>{{cite news |title=Y Combinator Is Raising Billions In New Funding |last1=Konrad |first1=Alex |url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/alexkonrad/2024/03/22/y-combinator-is-raising-billions-in-new-funding/ |work=Forbes |date=March 22, 2024 |accessdate=August 15, 2025}}</ref>

Given my financial COI, I will not make the edit myself. I am hopeful a volunteer editor will find this to be relevant and implement this text or a close variation thereof. Thanks, WWB Too (Talk · COI) 14:14, 15 August 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Done Encoded  Talk 💬 21:17, 24 September 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Proposed Politics section rewrite

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest was declined.

Hello again, page watchers. Having successfully proposed a small addition above, I'd like to suggest a bigger one: replacing the existing Politics section. I recognize this is a substantial change, so I want to explain why I think a complete replacement is preferable to incremental edit requests.

For some background, in March another editor cleaned up some POV wording in the section and noted in the edit summary: "this all should probably be re-written." Indeed, the current section is poorly organized, uses non-RS sources such as X/Twitter posts, and includes too many tangents and random opinions, likely derived from Tan's prolific social media use. For convenience, I've reproduced the content as of October 11, 2025 here:

Current section

Tan has been actively involved and influential in San Francisco politics, both by directing attention to various topics via his social media presence and through donations. Examples of causes espoused by Tan include increased funding for police, and opposition to regulation of self-driving cars, changes to education, decelerationism, Apple's monopoly on apps, and censorship by YouTube. Tan self identifies as a "moderate Democrat".[1][2] Tan has especially focused on increased housing development in San Francisco.[1] Tan has donated to YIMBY groups such as the San Francisco Bay Area Renters' Federation, YIMBY Action, and YIMBY Law.[3] In 2020, Tan said in an interview that he followed San Francisco housing news, and supported housing of all kinds, including market-rate housing, affordable housing, and homeless shelters.[4] Tan was a board member of GrowSF, a San Francisco pro-growth political group, donating at least $54,500 to the organization.[3][5] He promoted and raised funds for the recall of members of the San Francisco School Board. Tan himself donated $20,000 to the campaign, and fundraised from friends like Cyan Banister. He promoted the recall and raised money from his Twitter following.[3] Tan supported the 2022 recall campaign against progressive San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin. Tan donated at least $100,000 to the effort.[3][6] Tan blamed Boudin for physical attacks on Asians. Tan alleged that Boudin failed to hold violent criminal offenders accountable and failed to protect the general public, particularly the least advantaged.[6] After the recall campaign succeeded, Tan supported the election of appointed District Attorney Brooke Jenkins, and appointed Supervisor Matt Dorsey.[7] Tan has also encouraged tech leaders to participate in San Francisco local politics in 2023.[8] Tan is vocally critical towards what he describes as legacy media, specifically newspapers. He has described The New York Times as upholding "Woke Capital".[9] Tan is known for having blocked tens of thousands of accounts on Twitter/X, including public figures and journalists who have never interacted with him.[1][10] Tan called Y Combinator a "prototype model" of Balaji Srinivasan's Network State concept, which proposes creating new countries that start as digital communities and grow into sovereign entities by amassing members, wealth, and physical land.[11][12] Tan has publicly expressed support for Israel's actions in the Gaza war. Tan led a boycott of the 2023 Web Summit in protest of Web Summit co-founder Paddy Cosgrave's statements, which described some of Israel's actions as war crimes.[13] In 2024, Tan posted a tweet wishing death on seven of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors.[10][14] In a later apology, he said he was referencing a rap track.[10][14][9] References References Koehn, Josh (2023-09-27). "Y Combinator's Garry Tan Declares War on San Francisco Politics". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2023-09-28. Knight, Heather. "San Francisco's 'Twitter Menace' or True Believer? He Might Be Both". Lucas, Scott (2022-06-03). "Let Everyone Else Have Miami: Garry Tan Will Take San Francisco". The Information. Retrieved 2022-07-03. Cite error: The named reference :1 was invoked but never defined (see the help page). Garry Tan [@garrytan] (January 1, 2025). ""Quick news from me: I am stepping back from GrowSF as a board member but remain a supporter and friend to @agarwal @sbuss and the whole community. I'm spending more time focused on startups and AI and in DC this year, but I am incredibly proud of all the work done by GrowSF to build the new boom loop of prosperity in San Francisco: safe streets, strong public schools that value merit and achievement, and enough housing to make space for every income level, tech or not. If you care about the future of SF, please donate and join @growsf."" (Tweet) – via Twitter. Cassidy, Megan (2022-04-03). "These are the ultra-wealthy donors pouring money into the Chesa Boudin recall battle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2022-07-03. Hicks, William (2022-08-30). "Y Combinator's new president a key figure in tech — and S.F. politics". The Business Journals. Retrieved 2022-09-05. Truong, Kevin (2023-05-11). "Y Combinator CEO: Techies Will Win San Francisco Politics". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2023-08-24. Duran, Gil (April 26, 2024). "The Tech Baron Seeking to "Ethnically Cleanse" San Francisco". The New Republic. Archived from the original on April 27, 2024. Retrieved April 27, 2024. Morris, J.D. (29 January 2024). "S.F. tech exec and political donor apologizes after tweeting that local politicians should 'die slow'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 30 January 2024. "Garry Tan (@garrytan) on X". X (formerly Twitter). Archived from the original on February 1, 2025. Retrieved 2025-03-12. Srinivasan, Balaji (July 4, 2022). "1". The Network State: How To Start a New Country. 1729. "Meta, Google quit tech summit after organizer accuses Israel of committing war crimes". Times of Israel. Agence France-Presse. 21 October 2023. Retrieved 31 October 2024. Rivano Barros, Joe (27 January 2024). "Garry Tan, tech CEO & campaign donor, wishes death upon San Francisco politicians". Mission Local. Retrieved 30 January 2024.

The proposed replacement focuses on his actual political activities: his entry into SF politics, donations made, organizations joined, politicians supported and opposed, and combative style. It uses only reliable sources, and is more concise, organizing content into fewer, more focused paragraphs. See here:

Proposed section

Tan has been actively involved in San Francisco politics through his campaign donations and social media presence. He began making small donations to YIMBY housing activists in 2015, and became more politically active during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[1][2] Tan has focused his political giving primarily on housing development, public schools, and public safety. As of March 2024, he has donated approximately $400,000 to local political campaigns.[1] In 2022, Tan contributed $25,000 to a campaign that successfully removed three San Francisco school board members from office.[3] That same year, he donated between $50,000 and $100,000 to the recall of District Attorney Chesa Boudin.[3][4] Following these campaigns, Tan supported the appointed District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and appointed Supervisor Matt Dorsey in their subsequent elections.[2] Tan has served on the board of GrowSF, a moderate political advocacy group.[2] He has donated to YIMBY housing organizations including the San Francisco Bay Area Renters' Federation, YIMBY Action, and YIMBY Law.[5] In March 2024, he supported the election of Lily Ho to the local Democratic Party governing board and backed a measure to reinstate algebra instruction for eighth graders.[1] The New York Times has described Tan as having created a "bombastic online persona." He is known for blocking thousands of accounts on Twitter/X.[1][3] In January 2024, Tan posted a tweet stating that seven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors should "die slow." He later deleted the tweet, a close paraphrase of the Tupac Shakur song "Hit 'Em Up", and apologized, stating "there is no place, no excuse and no reason for this type of speech."[6][7] Asked at a September 2024 tech conference about running for mayor, Tan said, "Never, or 20 years from now."[8] In October 2023, Tan led a tech industry boycott of the Web Summit conference after its co-founder stated six days after the October 7 Hamas attack that Israel was committing war crimes.[9] References References Knight, Heather (March 29, 2024). "San Francisco's 'Twitter Menace' or True Believer? He Might Be Both". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Koehn, Josh (September 27, 2023). "Y Combinator CEO Garry Tan's war on San Francisco politics has only just begun". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Hicks, William (August 30, 2022). "Y Combinator's new president a key figure in tech — and S.F. politics". San Francisco Business Times. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Cassidy, Megan (April 3, 2022). "These are the ultra-wealthy donors pouring money into the Chesa Boudin recall battle". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Lucas, Scott (2022-06-03). "Let Everyone Else Have Miami: Garry Tan Will Take San Francisco". The Information. Retrieved 2022-07-03. Rivano Barros, Joe (January 27, 2024). "Garry Tan, tech CEO & campaign donor, wishes death upon San Francisco politicians". Mission Local. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Morris, J.D. (January 29, 2024). "S.F. tech exec and political donor apologizes after tweeting that local politicians should 'die slow'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved October 6, 2025. Anand, Priya (September 5, 2024). "Garry Tan for mayor? 'Never, or 20 years from now,' Y Combinator chief says". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved October 6, 2025. AFP and ToI Staff (October 21, 2023). "Meta, Google quit tech summit after organizer accuses Israel of committing war crimes". The Times of Israel. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

To provide an example of my thinking and judgment calls made, let's consider the most contentious topic in the whole section, the 2024 tweet incident. The current version is actually a little too short, and potentially misleads through lack of context and hazy timeline:

In 2024, Tan posted a tweet wishing death on seven of the 11 members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors. In a later apology, he said he was referencing a rap track.

The proposed version describes the sequence of events more clearly, removes the irrelevant detail about board size, identifies the track in question, and uses limited quotations for better context:

In January 2024, Tan posted a tweet stating that seven members of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors should "die slow." He later deleted the tweet, a close paraphrase of the Tupac Shakur song "Hit 'Em Up", and apologized, stating "there is no place, no excuse and no reason for this type of speech."

Given my COI, I won't implement these changes myself. I hope other editors will find this a net improvement. I'm happy to answer questions or discuss concerns. Thanks for considering this request. WWB Too (Talk · COI) 23:40, 11 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Not done: Whitewashing Likeanechointheforest (talk) 16:56, 12 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi Likeanechointheforest, I am curious if you found any of my critique persuasive? Perhaps this is too much to ask to change at once. What would you say to removing material sourced only to X/Twitter? WWB Too (Talk · COI) 15:14, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Can you please call out that material again? Likeanechointheforest (talk) 17:23, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

There are two instances of Tan's X/Twitter feed being used in the current section, which you can see in the reflist above. The 1/1/25 tweet supports Tan having left the board of GrowSF; FWIW, in my draft I wrote "has served" to avoid having to verify "was". Later, the paragraph beginning "Tan called Y Combinator" is sourced to a tweet from 2/1/25. The book being discussed is also cited as a source, but is not a source; it's just linking to the book itself. WWB Too (Talk · COI) 20:22, 13 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Partially implemented Likeanechointheforest (talk) 15:17, 17 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Thank you for taking another look. I didn't intend for my draft to soften criticism of Tan, but I see how it could have that cumulative effect. I'll have another request soon that will also focus narrowly, and would welcome your review, if you're up for it. Thanks WWB Too (Talk · COI) 20:22, 20 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Revising Politics section opening paragraph

This edit request by an editor with a conflict of interest was declined. A consensus could not be reached.

Following the discussion above about my previous COI edit request, I'd like to suggest another more focused proposal for the Politics section. Here is how the section begins now:

Current opening paragraph

Tan has been actively involved and influential in San Francisco politics, both by directing attention to various topics via his social media presence and through donations. Examples of causes espoused by Tan include increased funding for police, and opposition to regulation of self-driving cars, changes to education, decelerationism, Apple's monopoly on apps, and censorship by YouTube. Tan self identifies as a "moderate Democrat".[1][2] References Koehn, Josh (2023-09-27). "Y Combinator's Garry Tan Declares War on San Francisco Politics". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2023-09-28. Knight, Heather. "San Francisco's 'Twitter Menace' or True Believer? He Might Be Both".

The problem is that several of these topics—self-driving cars, decelerationism, Apple's monopoly on apps, and censorship by YouTube—are not reflective of Tan's actual political activism. Read the San Francisco Standard article the list comes from (start with "Over the course of two hours") and it is clear the reporter is describing a few tweets from a single evening. I propose to replace it with:

Proposed opening paragraph

Tan has been actively involved in San Francisco politics through his campaign donations and social media presence. He began making donations to YIMBY housing activists in 2015, and became more politically active during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[1][2] Tan has focused his political giving primarily on housing development, public schools, and public safety. As of March 2024, he has donated approximately $400,000 to local political campaigns.[2] References Koehn, Josh (2023-09-27). "Y Combinator's Garry Tan Declares War on San Francisco Politics". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2023-09-28. Knight, Heather (March 29, 2024). "San Francisco's 'Twitter Menace' or True Believer? He Might Be Both". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

This revision removes no criticism. Instead, it adds context about how Tan became involved in politics—something the current version lacks—while staying focused on verifiable activities rather than scattered opinions. I've omitted the "moderate Democrat" self-ID as less relevant, though I'm flexible on this. The current sources can be retained as they verify the same information. Below, I show how the sources support each claim:

Source verification

Here's where each claim in the proposed opening paragraph is verified: Sentence 1: "Tan has been actively involved in San Francisco politics through his campaign donations and social media presence." SF Standard: "He boasts 362,000 followers on X (formerly Twitter) and a quarter-million subscribers to his YouTube channel. He has also poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into local elections since 2021." NY Times: "To some of San Francisco's political establishment, Mr. Tan, 43, has become the most annoying in a parade of wealthy tech executives. He has created a bombastic online persona while spending about $400,000 on local politics in the past few years..." Sentence 2: "He began making donations to YIMBY housing activists in 2015, and became more politically active during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020." SF Standard: "Tan contributed $5,139 to various campaigns in 2015 and 2016 and supported Sonja Trauss and other YIMBY housing activists." NY Times: "Records show he started donating to local politicians in 2015, but Mr. Tan said he didn't get particularly invested in city politics until the pandemic." Sentence 3: "Tan has focused his political giving primarily on housing development, public schools, and public safety." NY Times: "Despite his online bravado, Mr. Tan, who says he is a moderate Democrat, wants three not-exactly-radical changes to San Francisco: a beefed-up police force with more power to combat the city's property crime epidemic and anti-Asian violence, a thriving public school district that pushes students academically, and more housing for people of all income levels in a city struggling with tent encampments and a disappearing middle class." Sentence 4: "As of March 2024, he has donated approximately $400,000 to local political campaigns." NY Times (published March 29, 2024): "He has created a bombastic online persona while spending about $400,000 on local politics in the past few years." All claims are well-supported by these two sources.

One more thing: the SF Standard is currently a named ref within the article (<ref name=":3">) which I preserve in my draft. The NYT source is unnamed in the live article, but named in my draft. As before, because I am being paid to review this article, I will not make any changes on my own. What do other editors think about making this change? WWB Too (Talk · COI) 14:18, 30 October 2025 (UTC)[reply]

 Already done. NotJamestack (talk) 22:01, 2 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Hi NotJamestack, I appreciate you taking a look. However, when I look at the article and edit history, I don't see any changes. Did you intend to implement the suggested change? WWB Too (Talk · COI) 14:54, 3 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@WWB Too The change was already done when I came to this edit request. NotJamestack (talk) 15:06, 3 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

@NotJamestack The previous edit request—about eliminating Twitter as a reference—was answered. However this edit request, about the first paragraph of the Politics section, has not been done. If you look at the live article it still mentions, for instance "deceleration" which my proposal would remove. Mind taking another look? WWB Too (Talk · COI) 20:08, 3 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Since the edit request has not been taken up, I've gone ahead and re-opened it. WWB Too (Talk · COI) 20:14, 4 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I decided to not do that part, back then, because I didn't think it fit, and I agree now Likeanechointheforest (talk) 18:04, 14 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

I do find that surprising. The current first paragraph is a grab-bag of opinions from a single night of tweeting. The proposed replacement explains how he got into politics in the first place, which serves as a better introduction for the rest of it. But thanks for following up. WWB Too (Talk · COI) 18:26, 14 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]

Adding missing info about Garry Tan's entry to politics

The user below has a request that an edit be made to Garry Tan. That user has an actual or apparent conflict of interest. The requested edits backlog is very high. Please be extremely patient. There are currently 216 requests waiting for review. Please read the instructions for the parameters used by this template for accepting and declining them, and review the request below and make the edit if it is well sourced, neutral, and follows other Wikipedia guidelines and policies.

Hello, my previous suggestion of replacing the first paragraph met with some disagreement, so instead I'd like to propose adding new information without removing any existing content. I suggest inserting the following as a new second paragraph in the Politics section:

Proposed opening paragraph

Tan began making donations to YIMBY housing activists in 2015, and became more politically active during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.[1][2] Tan has focused his political giving primarily on housing development, public schools, and public safety. As of March 2024, he has donated approximately $400,000 to local political campaigns.[2] References Koehn, Josh (2023-09-27). "Y Combinator's Garry Tan Declares War on San Francisco Politics". The San Francisco Standard. Retrieved 2023-09-28. Knight, Heather (March 29, 2024). "San Francisco's 'Twitter Menace' or True Believer? He Might Be Both". The New York Times. Retrieved October 6, 2025.

This passage adds context about when and how Tan became involved in politics—information not currently found in the article. It relies on RS citations already used in the section, specifically the The San Francisco Standard (currently (<ref name=":3">) and The New York Times (unnamed in the live article, but named in my draft). Given my COI, I won't implement this myself. If another editor finds this improves the article, I hope they'll consider adding it. WWB Too (Talk · COI) 17:02, 26 November 2025 (UTC)[reply]