George Soros conspiracy theories

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George Soros, Hungarian-born American businessman and philanthropist, is the object of numerous conspiracy theories.
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Hungarian-American billionaire businessman and philanthropist

political right.[1][2] Veronika Bondarenko, writing for Business Insider said: "For two decades, some have seen Soros as a kind of puppet master secretly controlling the global economy and politics."[3] The New York Times describes the allegations as moving "from the dark corners of the internet and talk radio" to "the very center of the political debate" by 2018.[4] Professor Armin Langer has noted that Soros is "the perfect code word" for conspiracy theories that unite antisemitism and Islamophobia.[5]

One prominent Soros-related conspiracy theory is that he is behind the

Freemasons and Illuminati."[6][7]

Soros has become a magnet for such theories, with opponents claiming he is behind such diverse events as the

October 2018 Central American immigrant caravans, and protests against the Brett Kavanaugh Supreme Court nomination.[4][11] In a tweet, President Donald Trump also claimed Soros was backing the protests against Kavanaugh's nomination.[12]

American conservatives picked up on the thread in the late 2000s, spearheaded by Fox News. Bill O'Reilly gave an almost ten-minute monologue on Soros in 2007, calling him an "extremist" and claiming he was "off-the-charts dangerous."[9]

1990s

In 1997, during the

Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for welcoming Myanmar as a member. With a history of antisemitic remarks, Mahathir made specific reference to Soros's Jewish background ("It is a Jew who triggered the currency plunge"),[13] and implied Soros was orchestrating the crash as part of a larger Jewish conspiracy. Nine years later, in 2006, Mahathir met with Soros and afterward stated that he accepted that Soros had not been responsible for the crisis.[14]
In 1998's The Crisis of Global Capitalism: Open Society Endangered, Soros explained his role in the crisis as follows:

The financial crisis that originated in Thailand in 1997 was particularly unnerving because of its scope and severity ... By the beginning of 1997, it was clear to Soros Fund Management that the discrepancy between the trade account and the capital account was becoming untenable. We sold short the Thai baht and the Malaysian ringgit early in 1997 with maturities ranging from six months to a year. (That is, we entered into contracts to deliver at future dates Thai baht and Malaysian ringgit that we did not currently hold.) Subsequently, Prime Minister Mahathir of Malaysia accused me of causing the crisis, a wholly unfounded accusation. We were not sellers of the currency during or several months before the crisis; on the contrary, we were buyers when the currencies began to decline—we were purchasing ringgits to realize the profits on our earlier speculation. (Much too soon, as it turned out. We left most of the potential gain on the table because we were afraid that Mahathir would impose capital controls. He did so, but much later.)[15]

2010s

Soros's opposition to

Remain campaign, and was subsequently accused of antisemitism by opposition MPs.[20]

After being ousted from office in the wake of the Panama Papers scandal of 2016, Icelandic Prime Minister Sigmundur Davíð Gunnlaugsson accused Soros of having bankrolled a conspiracy to remove him from power.[21][22] It was later noted that Soros himself had also been implicated in the Panama Papers, casting doubt on the prime minister's theory.[23]

Following a December 20, 1998, 60 Minutes interview,[24][25] in which Soros related his experiences of when, at the age of 13, the Nazis occupied his native Hungary,[26][27] right-wing figures such as Alex Jones, Dinesh D'Souza, Glenn Beck, Roseanne Barr,[28] James Woods, Ann Coulter,[27] Louie Gohmert,[25] Marjorie Taylor Greene,[29] and Donald Trump Jr.,[30] promulgated the false conspiracy theory,[31][32] which has been described as antisemitic, that Soros was a Nazi collaborator who turned in other Jews and stole their property during the occupation.[33][34][35]

In October 2018, Soros was accused of funding the

Cesar Sayoc, the perpetrator of the October 2018 attempted bombings of prominent Democratic Party officials, and Robert Bowers, the perpetrator of the Pittsburgh synagogue shooting, referred to this conspiracy theory on social media before their crimes.[41][42]

In November 2018, Turkish President

political purges in Turkey, saying: "The person who financed terrorists during the Gezi incidents is already in prison. And who is behind him? The famous Hungarian Jew Soros. This is a man who assigns people to divide nations and shatter them."[43]

In November 2019, attorney

NGOs – work with NGOs. That was very evident in Ukraine."[53] Soros's Open Society Foundations described diGenova's claims as "beyond rhetorical ugliness, beyond fiction, beyond ludicrous" and requested that Fox News provide an on-air retraction of diGenova's claims, and stop providing diGenova with a platform.[54] Although the network never publicly announced it had banned him, diGenova has not appeared on Fox following the incident.[55] In September 2020, diGenova suggested that Fox News is also controlled by Soros.[55]

2020s

A study by Zignal Labs found that unsubstantiated claims of involvement by Soros were one of three dominant themes in misinformation and conspiracy theories around the 2020 George Floyd protests, alongside claims that Floyd's murder had been faked and claims of involvement by antifa groups.[56] The Anti-Defamation League estimated that over four days after Floyd's murder, negative Twitter messages about Soros increased from about 20,000 per day to about 500,000 per day.[57]

After the

2020 Nagorno-Karabakh war in October, Aliyev labeled Soros's activities a "destructive, movement, and a colonial movement". He also added that Soros "came to power in Armenia today, but failed."[62]

During the 2022 Brazilian general election, Ciro Gomes, the presidential candidate of the centre-left Democratic Labour Party, claimed in various campaign adverts that the Socialism and Liberty Party was funded by Soros. These adverts were ordered to be removed by the Superior Electoral Court.[63]

When Donald Trump was indicted by Manhattan district attorney Alvin Bragg in 2023, numerous Republicans claimed that Bragg was "bought and paid for" by Soros. This claim was promoted and spread by Trump himself as well as Ron DeSantis, Senator J. D. Vance, Senator Ron Johnson, Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Representative Anna Paulina Luna, and Representative Paul Gosar, who called Bragg a "Soros D.A.".[64] The only actual connection is that Soros donated to progressive criminal justice reform group Color of Change, which contributed to Bragg's campaign. Soros was only one of many donors to Color of Change, and he had no contact with Bragg, whom he has never met.[65][66]

See also

References

  1. ^ Soskis, Benjamin (December 5, 2017). "George Soros and the Demonization of Philanthropy". The Atlantic. Archived from the original on February 20, 2018. Retrieved February 26, 2018.
  2. ^ Rachman, Gideon (September 18, 2017). "Soros hatred is a global sickness". Financial Times. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 4, 2018.
  3. ^ Bondarenko, Veronika (May 20, 2017). "George Soros is a favorite target of the right – here's how that happened". Business Insider. Archived from the original on February 27, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  4. ^ a b Shane, Scott; Vogel, Kenneth P.; Kingsley, Patrick (October 31, 2018). "How Vilification of George Soros Moved From the Fringes to the Mainstream". The New York Times. Archived from the original on November 1, 2018. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
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  8. ^ Rynbaum, Michael M. (February 20, 2018). "Right-Wing Media Uses Parkland Shooting as Conspiracy Fodder". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 3, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  9. ^ a b Brown, Jennings; Steinblatt, Jacob (March 30, 2017). "How George Soros Became The Right's Biggest Boogeyman". www.vocativ.com. Vocativ. Archived from the original on February 23, 2018. Retrieved March 3, 2018.
  10. ^ Streitfeld, David (December 25, 2016). "For Fact Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks". The New York Times. Archived from the original on December 27, 2016. Retrieved December 27, 2016.
  11. ^ Rizzo, Salvador (October 5, 2018). "No, George Soros isn't paying Kavanaugh protesters". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  12. ^ Jamieson, Amber (October 6, 2018). "Trump's Lawyer Retweeted That 'Anti-Christ' George Soros Is Funding Anti-Kavanaugh Protests". Buzzfeed News. Archived from the original on October 6, 2018. Retrieved October 6, 2018.
  13. ^ "Mahathir's dark side". The Daily Telegraph. London. October 24, 2003. Archived from the original on April 21, 2018. Retrieved April 5, 2018.
  14. ^ "Malaysian ex-premier Mahathir and billionaire Soros end feud". ABC News. Agence France-Presse. December 15, 2006.
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  16. ^ Finkelstein, Daniel (February 14, 2018). "George Soros and the roots of antisemitism". The Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.(subscription required)
  17. ^ Behr, Rafael (February 8, 2018). "A secret plot to stop Brexit, or an antisemitic dog whistle?". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  18. ^ Fisher, Lucy (February 8, 2018). "Brexiteers and alt-right unite against 'globalist' billionaire George Soros". The Guardian. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  19. ^ Lusher, Adam (February 8, 2018). "George Soros: The billionaire investor who became the favourite target of conspiracy theories and antisemitic hatred". The Independent. Archived from the original on May 4, 2018. Retrieved May 3, 2018.
  20. ^ "Jacob Rees-Mogg accused of antisemitism after George Soros comments". The Independent. October 4, 2019. Archived from the original on October 9, 2019. Retrieved October 9, 2019.
  21. ^ "Segir Panama-skjölin runnin undan rifjum Soros". RÚV. July 27, 2016. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  22. ^ "Sigmundur Davíð segir Panamaskjölin hafa verið sérstakt "hit-job"". Kjarninn. February 27, 2017. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  23. ^ "Kom Soros upp um sjálfan sig?". Kjarninn. July 26, 2016. Archived from the original on September 21, 2018. Retrieved September 11, 2018.
  24. ^ Steve Kroft (December 20, 1998), George Soros 1998 interview MP4 video ("confiscation" comment at 8:35), 60 Minutes via Internet Archive
  25. ^ a b Sonmez, Felicia (December 6, 2018). "Rep. Louie Gohmert falsely says George Soros helped take property from fellow Jews". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  26. Mark E. Souder (September 29, 2006), "THE GUILT-FREE RECORD OF GEORGE SOROS" (Extensions of Remarks) Archived August 1, 2020, at the Wayback Machine
    , Congressional Record via Google Books
  27. ^ a b Emery, David (February 4, 2018) [2016]. "Was George Soros an SS Officer or Nazi Collaborator During World War II?". Snopes. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  28. ^ Niraj Chokshi (May 29, 2018), "George Soros Smears Find New Life in Roseanne's Twitter Tantrum" Archived February 22, 2019, at the Wayback Machine, The New York Times
  29. ^ Nadler, Ben (August 12, 2020). "Marjorie Taylor Greene wins GOP primary in Georgia, despite racist videos". The Times of Israel. Retrieved February 1, 2021.
  30. ^ Manchester, Julia (May 29, 2018). "Trump Jr. retweets Roseanne's conspiracy theory about George Soros". The Hill. Archived from the original on June 1, 2018. Retrieved February 2, 2021.
  31. ^ Sommer, Allison Kaplan (October 14, 2018). "From 'Satanic' to 'Anti-Christ': Pro-Trump Attacks on George Soros Intensify as Midterms Approach". Haaretz. Archived from the original on May 31, 2020. Retrieved June 2, 2020.
  32. ^ Smith, Allan (December 6, 2018). "Gohmert makes false claim in TV interview about Soros and Jews. Fox Business distances itself". NBC News. Archived from the original on December 11, 2018. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  33. ^ Avi Selk (May 30, 2018), "George Soros wasn't a Nazi, Roseanne Barr. He was a 14-year-old Jew who hid from them." Archived July 26, 2018, at the Wayback Machine The Washington Post [1] Archived December 4, 2019, at the Wayback Machine
  34. ^ Lybrand, Holmes (May 30, 2018). "Fact Check: George Soros, the Thieving Nazi Sympathizer?". The Weekly Standard. Archived from the original on January 12, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  35. ^ Coaston, Jane (June 11, 2018). "George Soros is not a Nazi, explained". Vox. Archived from the original on January 11, 2019. Retrieved January 11, 2019.
  36. ^ Qiu, Linda (October 20, 2018). "Did Democrats, or George Soros, Fund Migrant Caravan? Despite Republican Claims, No". The New York Times. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  37. ^ "Five myths about the Honduran caravan debunked". NBC News. October 22, 2018. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  38. ^ Danielle Wiener-Bronner. "Campbell Soup disavows Soros conspiracy theory tweeted by VP". CNN. Archived from the original on October 24, 2018. Retrieved October 24, 2018.
  39. ^ a b Joel Achenbach (October 28, 2018). "A conspiracy theory about George Soros and a migrant caravan inspired horror". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 29, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  40. ^ "Trump: "A Lot of People Say" George Soros Is Funding the Migrant Caravan". Vanity Fair. October 31, 2018. Archived from the original on September 14, 2020. Retrieved September 15, 2020.
  41. ^ Jason Wilson (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh shooting extends wave of conspiracy-minded rightwing violence". The Guardian. London. Archived from the original on October 28, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  42. ^ Kelly Weill (October 27, 2018). "Pittsburgh Synagogue Suspect Robert Bowers Hated Trump—for Not Hating Jews". Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 10, 2018. Retrieved October 29, 2018.
  43. ^ "Soros foundation to close in Turkey after attack by Erdogan". Reuters. November 26, 2018. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved May 2, 2019.
  44. ^ Sheth, Sonam (April 11, 2018). "Former federal prosecutor Joseph DiGenova calls for Rosenstein's firing on Fox News after Trump tells people to tune in to the 'big show'". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 12, 2018. Retrieved April 12, 2018. DiGenova and his wife, Victoria Toensing, both used to work within the US Justice Department, but later made their reputations peddling conspiracy theories on TV about the DOJ and FBI.
  45. ^ Haberman, Maggie; Schmidt, Michael S. (March 19, 2018). "Trump Hires Lawyer Who Has Pushed Theory That Justice Dept. Framed the President". The New York Times. Archived from the original on March 22, 2018. Retrieved March 22, 2018.
  46. ISSN 0190-8286. Archived
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  47. ^ Sheth, Sonam (March 19, 2018). "Trump is reportedly set to hire a new lawyer who called Comey 'a dirty cop' and accused the FBI of trying to 'frame' Trump". Business Insider. Archived from the original on May 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2018.
  48. ^ "The bizarre conspiracy theories peddled by Donald Trump's new lawyer". The Independent. March 20, 2018. Archived from the original on May 24, 2018. Retrieved May 31, 2018.
  49. Daily Intelligencer. Archived
    from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. DiGenova is known as a fierce defender of Trump who has used frequent guest appearances on Fox News to advance far-out conspiracy theories that the FBI is trying to frame the president.
  50. ^ Tibon, Amir (March 20, 2018). "Trump's New Lawyer: The Man Who Sent Jonathan Pollard to Jail". Haaretz. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. Joseph diGenova has promoted conspiracy theories about a 'deep state' attempt to 'frame' Trump and his campaign for criminal activities
  51. ^ Breuninger, Kevin (March 27, 2018). "Here are the lawyers who quit or declined to represent Trump in the Mueller probe". CNBC. Archived from the original on August 18, 2018. Retrieved August 18, 2018. DiGenova, a regular Fox News guest, had spouted conspiracy theories about the Mueller probe's motives against Trump.
  52. ^ [44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51]
  53. ^ "Lou Dobbs guest Joe diGenova says George Soros controls a large part of the State Department and activities of FBI agents". Media Matters for America. November 13, 2019. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 14, 2019.
  54. ^ Wemple, Eric (November 14, 2019). "Soros foundation requests banning of Joe diGenova from Fox News/Fox Business after anti-Semitic rant". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on November 14, 2019. Retrieved November 16, 2019.
  55. ^ a b Baragona, Justin (September 23, 2020). "Former Fox News Regular Joe diGenova Claims Network Is Beholden to George Soros". The Daily Beast. Archived from the original on November 6, 2020. Retrieved December 1, 2020.
  56. ^ Alba, Davey (June 1, 2020). "Misinformation About George Floyd Protests Surges on Social Media". The New York Times. Archived from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved June 4, 2020.
  57. ^ "Soros conspiracy theories surge as protests sweep US » Borneo Bulletin Online". Archived from the original on June 25, 2020. Retrieved June 22, 2020.
  58. ^ "Ilham Aliyev: 'Current government in Armenia are agents of Soros'". Azeri Daily. July 31, 2020. Archived from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  59. ^ "Open Society Foundations-Armenia provides over US $600,000 for the response to COVID-19". Open Society Foundations Armenia. July 20, 2020. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  60. ^ Mammadov, Sabuhi (August 6, 2020). "Biz heç vaxt işğal ilə barışmayacağıq" [We will never reconcile with the occupation] (PDF). Khalg Gazeti (in Azerbaijani). p. 3. Archived from the original (PDF) on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020 – via National Library of Azerbaijan.
  61. ^ ""Ermənistanın indiki rəhbərliyi Soros fondunun agentləridir" – İlham Əliyev" ["The current leadership of Armenia is an agent of the Soros Foundation," said Ilham Aliyev]. Ordu.az (in Azerbaijani). July 31, 2020. Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  62. ^ Ozturk, Alparslan (October 16, 2020). "İlham Əliyev: "Soros Ermənistanda hakimiyyətə gəldi, amma iflasa uğradı"" [Ilham Aliyev: "Soros came to power in Armenia, but failed"]. Report Information Agency (in Azerbaijani). Archived from the original on January 2, 2021. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  63. ^ "TSE manda apagar vídeo em que Ciro diz que PSOL é financiado por Soros". noticias.uol.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Retrieved April 10, 2023.
  64. ^ Dale, Daniel (March 31, 2023). "Breaking down Trump's 'Soros' attack on the Manhattan DA". CNN. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 2, 2023.
  65. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived
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  66. ^ Schwartz, Brian (March 22, 2023). "Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg's ties to billionaire George Soros are not as close as Republicans claim". CNBC. Archived from the original on April 2, 2023. Retrieved April 3, 2023.

Further reading

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