George Soros

George Soros (1930–) is a Hungarian-born billionaire. Most people don't know much about him, and his name makes him sound like a Bond villain (plus, his surname is a palindrome). What better guy to portray as the brain to which the entire progressive movement is beholden?[2] The movement is easier to demonize when it seems like it's all the machination of one rich evil, Jewish bastard. In reality, what he's doing is fairly innocuous. Indeed, Soros has done some good in the world by funding district attorneys who oppose the War on (Some) Drugs (so he can smoke dope in Albany?). Perhaps one day the state can mind its own business rather than spending oodles of money on non-violent drug offenders.

Some dare call it
Conspiracy
What THEY don't want
you to know!
Sheeple wakers
v - t - e
—George Soros[1]

It's important to gain some perspective on Soros' actual power. Soros' net worth was $8.3 billion as of 2019, and $32 billion has been spent by him on philanthropy previously; his net worth and his previous expenditures together total $40 billion.[3] Charles and David Koch, two multi-billionaires who regularly donate to conservative causes, could buy and sell Soros' peasant ass two times over due to having a combined net worth of $90 billion.[4] Moreover, in 2001-2012, 92 out of 100 richest U.S. billionaires contributed to a political cause; they have combined wealth of $2200 fucking billion, and they mostly contributed to conservative causes[5]. Why all the fuss about Soros but not about them?

Despite how stupid this hysteria is, Soros is a favorite boogeyman of the far-right. To them, Soros is a dark and mysterious figure who is responsible for astroturfing the entire left-wing of the United States. Even President Trump, while throwing a fit because of what Soros said about him back in 2016, has gotten in on the action by tweeting in October of 2018 that people protesting against Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court nomination were "paid for by Soros and others."[6] This is only one sign that Soros conspiracy theories have become mainstream.

Even worse, Soros conspiracies seem on the verge of causing real world violence. Cesar Sayoc, the man behind the 2018 United States mail bombing attempts drew inspiration from conspiracies that claimed Soros was paying refugees to come to the United States. The FBI learned in 2017 that a far-right militia in New Mexico was training with assault weapons in the hopes of murdering former President Barack Obama, former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and their perceived backer George Soros.[7]

Rationalwiki is, of course, a proud recipient of Soros' dark money because we're all a bunch of evil Zionists who want to destroy Western civilization and usher in a one world Islamist government.Do You Believe That?

Conspiracy theories

Becoming the boogeyman

Soros actually made modest donations to the GOP in the 1980s and 1990s, and the GOP initially considered Soros an ally because of his opposition to communist dictators.[1] Soros ceased donating to the GOP after George W. Bush invaded Iraq in 2003 based on faulty intelligence.[1]

George Soros has since become a well-known funder of various liberal organizations, including the Center for American Progress, MoveOn.org, and a princely $1 million donation to Media Matters. It was speculated that he gave funds to the Occupy movement in 2011; however, this was proven not the case.[8] He also funds a whole bunch of NGOs, mostly dealing with civic supervision over governments, which is something authoritarian parties (e.g. PiS,File:Wikipedia's W.svg Fidesz,File:Wikipedia's W.svg PSD,File:Wikipedia's W.svg United RussiaFile:Wikipedia's W.svg) don't like.

Soros famously bet against the British pound in 1992, causing investors to panic and earning himself $1 billion.[9] He subsequently turned around and used his infamy to begin advocating for tighter regulation of international markets. Hatred towards him from the American right began in 2007, when Fox News pundit Bill O'Reilly went on a ten-minute rant about how he is an "extremist" who supposedly bought up control of the American left and has become "off the chart dangerous."[10] Glenn Beck concocted a conspiracy theory in which Soros secretly bankrolled communist eastern European regimes despite the fact that he actually supported anti-communist opposition parties in these states. Beck also amusingly used three giant chalkboards, a wooden pointer, various props, and literal marionette puppets to explain how Soros was behind a "shadow party" that wanted to create a "one world government".[11] A decade later, conservatives still believe this stupid shit, and Soros still hasn't taken over.

The mastermind behind everything we don't like!
Ben Garrison conspiracy cartoon.

Donald Trump and his Republican cronies blame Soros for just about everything that inconveniences them. They claim Soros has taken over Black Lives Matter to promote socialism.[12] They claim that Soros paid all of the anti-Kavanaugh protesters,[13] because clearly there's no way that any Americans would be opposed to Kavanaugh without some kind of monetary compensation. They've even JAQed off about whether Soros is funding the wave of Central American refugees trying to seek asylum in the US.[14] Sean Hannity brought a guest on his segment to claim that the migrant caravans were an "assault" on the United States sponsored by George Soros.[15] Breitbart hopped on the caravan bandwagon by claiming that Soros was behind a plot to stage a massive anti-Trump protest in April 2017.[16]

The Women's March? Engineered by Soros.[17] The Mueller investigation? It used resources controlled by Soros![18] Colin Kaepernick? Popularizing the hatred of America on behalf of his "buddy Soros," according to Tomi Lahren.[19] As fact-checking site Snopes has gained prominence, some conspiracy theorists are claiming that Soros is behind them too.[20] Particularly disgusting cranks claimed that victims of school shootings around the US are in fact crisis actors paid for by you-know-who.[21]

Conspiracy theorists aren't even above outright altering photographs to suit their agenda. Climate activist Greta Thunberg was accused of being a Soros proxy after pictures circulated of her standing next to him. In reality, she was with Al Gore, and some internet busybodies decided to Photoshop Soros' head on Gore's body.[22]

He wants to destroy America!
Glenn Beck explains how Soros is responsible for... uh... something.

Infowars has repeatedly claimed that Soros wants to destroy America and the whole world, making videos like "George Soros Is About To Overthrow The U.S." or " Trump Pulls World From Brink Of Nuclear War: Soros Outraged".[11] Viral Facebook memes have been circulated by cranks showing an obviously fake quote from Soros: "I’ve made my life’s mission to destroy the United States. I hate this country and I hate all of the people in it!"[23]

Why is this idiocy so popular? Well, the unfortunate fact is that large segments of the American right consider criticism of the government and basic political advocacy as "wanting to destroy America."[24] Soros is vocally anti-Trump.[25] Therefore he hates America. The irony is lost on the far-right that identifying their movement and their leader with the whole country is way more directly harmful to American politics than Soros could ever be.

Far-right hysteria in Europe

Soros is also a hated figure among Europe's populist far-right parties and politicians. Romanian politicians used the same "paid Soros protesters" card in 2017 to dismiss an event that involved half a million of their country's citizens.[26] Soros has also been blamed for things like the Catalan independence movement (because what better way to achieve a one world government than by making more countries, eh?) as well as any bad thing that happens in Romania.[26] Polish leaders blame Soros for promoting multiculturalism.[27] He has also been attacked by Turkish President Erdogan, who used Soros conspiracies to justify jailing opposition figures. Erdogan's specific quote refers to Soros as "The famous Hungarian Jew" who "assigns people to divide nations and shatter them."[28]

In his home country, Soros has an enemy in Viktor Orbán, Hungary's far-right leader. Orbán has repeatedly passed legislation targeting Soros' non-profits and even forced the famous Central European University to leave the country due to its ties to Soros.[29] He claims that Soros is encouraging and benefiting from the refugee crisis.[30] A bill in 2018 declaring that it was criminal to aid refugees in Hungary was called the "Stop Soros Law", and subways in Budapest had posters of Soros' face on the floors for commuters to trample on.[31] The government of a sovereign country is literally waging a political war against one man over conspiracy theories.

Elsewhere in Europe? The Russian government has as of 2015 banned all of George Soros' philanthropic organizations from operating in Russia as a threat to national security.[32] *In the UK the right-wing press has gone into hysterics about his funding of pro-European Union groups, talking of a "secret plot" against Brexit in terms that bring to mind talk of secret international Jewish conspiracies.[33][34]

White supremacist Steve Bannon has made no secret of the fact that he hopes to use Soros conspiracies as a means to further mobilize Europe's far right.[35]

Cue the anti-Semitism

Being known as "The Man Who Broke the Bank of England," Soros features in many international Jewish conspiracy theories (and he usually has ties to the Rothschild family in those theories, of course), e.g. by the John Birch Society[36] and others.[37] During the 1997-98 southeast Asian financial crisis, Malaysian premier Mahathir bin Mohamad fingered Soros as the head of a Jewish cabal that had caused the crisis. This began a feud[38] between the two that lasted until 2006, when Mahathir apologized.[39]

Jews in Hungary have noted that the intense anti-Soros campaign there seems to be a vehicle for overt antisemitism.[40] In the States, Breitbart has used Nazi-inspired antisemitic imagery and rhetoric to demonize Soros.[41] Glenn Beck repeatedly used another historically antisemitic image to refer to Soros, that of the supposed "puppet master."[42]

Soros' Holocaust experience
“”soros, who was 9 y/o on V-Day, was the architect of the holocaust.
—KRANG T. NELSON[43]

In reality, Soros was born on August 12, 1930 in Budapest.[44] That would have made him 13 years old when Nazi Germany invaded Hungary on March 19, 1944 and began mass deportation of Jews to concentration camps shortly thereafter.[45] Soros was 14 years old when the Soviet Army liberated Hungary on February 13, 1945.[45]

Various nutty sources allege that Soros — who is Jewish — was actively involved in perpetrating the Holocaust.[43] He has been falsely accused of a wide range of atrocities: being a Nazi; being in the SS; stealing his wealth from Holocaust victims.[46] Glenn Beck accused Soros of collaborating with the Nazis as a teenager in Nazi-occupied Hungary, when he had been hidden with the Christian family of a government official at the ages of 13 to 14 to escape persecution.[47][48]

Others who have falsely accused Soros of collaborating with the Nazis (or of being one) include:

Blaming the victim is in fact a form of Holocaust denial.[56] Soros was a victim because he was a Jewish child in Nazi-occupied Hungary during a period of active deportations to concentration camps.

Soros was asked about his experience in Nazi-occupied Hungary in a 1998 interview with Steve KroftFile:Wikipedia's W.svg on 60 Minutes:[57]

Kroft: You're a Hungarian Jew who escaped the Holocaust by posing as a Christian.
Soros: Right.
Kroft: ...and you watched lots of people get shipped off to the death camps.
Soros: Right. I was 14 years old and I would say that that's when my character was made.
Kroft: In what way?
Soros: That one should think ahead, one should understand and anticipate events and one is threatened. It was a tremendous threat of evil. I mean it was a very personal experience of evil.
Kroft: My understanding is that you went out with this protector of yours who swore that you were his adopted godson.
Soros: Yes.
Kroft: ...went out in fact and helped in the confiscation of property from the Jews?
Soros: That's right.
Kroft: I mean that sounds like an experience that would send lots of people to the psychiatric couch for many, many years. Was it difficult?
Soros: Not at all. Maybe as a child you don't see the connection but it created no problem at all.
Kroft: No feeling of guilt?
Soros: No.
Kroft: For example, "I'm Jewish and here I am watching these people go. I could just as easily be there. I should be there." None of that?
Soros: Well, of course I could be on the other side. I could be the one for whom the thing is being taken away, but there was no sense that I shouldn't be there. Well actually, funny way, it's just like in markets. If I weren't there, of course I wasn't doing it, but somebody else would be taking it away anyhow. Whether I was there or not I was only a spectator. The property was being taken away, so I had no role in taking away that property so I had no sense of guilt.[58]

Reputable media sources are united in saying that the allegations about Soros's Nazi past are false.[59][52] Even the very right-wing National Review, which has called Soros a "genuinely nasty guy", has dismissed the allegations and said they are part of a wider problem many on the right have with telling the truth.[46]

gollark: Off you go, ask every hatchery operator to go spend ages trying to integrate with DC's terrible API...
gollark: Yes, most.
gollark: * would prevent some of it
gollark: It's not really enforcable.
gollark: Asking for assistance on eggs, I mean.

See also
For those of you in the mood, RationalWiki has a fun article about George Soros.

References
  1. 'I must be doing something right': Billionaire George Soros faces renewed attacks with defiance by Michael Kranish (June 9, 2018 at 9:31 AM) The Washington Post.
  2. "Malaysian ex-premier Mahathir and billionaire Soros end feud", News Online (15 December 2006, 11:29pm AEDT). Mahatir Mohamad has basically admitted to using Soros as a scapegoat.
  3. What George Soros' life is really like: How the former hedge-fund manager built his $8.3 billion fortune, purchased a sprawling network of New York homes, and became the topic of international conspiracy theories. Business Insider.
  4. Charles Koch Net Worth. Celebrity Net Worth.
  5. Billionaires typically stay quiet about their politics. But don’t mistake their silence for moderation — the uber-rich tend to be extremely politically active and extremely conservative. Jacobin.
  6. Donald Trump Tweet. October 5, 2018.
  7. FBI Received Reports Militia Leader Talked Of Assassin Training Targeting Obama, Soros. Huffington Post.
  8. Reuters goofedFile:Wikipedia's W.svg
  9. The man who broke the Bank of England. BBC News.
  10. Transcript of O'Reilly segment "Buying Political Power".
  11. How George Soros Became The Right’s Biggest Boogeyman. Vocativ.
  12. Black Lives Matter has been hijacked by George Soros: Sheriff Clarke. Fox News.
  13. No, George Soros isn't paying Kavanaugh protesters. Washington Post.
  14. Trump says he 'wouldn't be surprised' if unfounded conspiracy theory about George Soros funding caravan is true. Washington Post.
  15. Hannity guest Glenn Beck claims migrant caravans are “an assault” on America funded by George Soros. Media Matters.
  16. Soros Groups Behind Massive Anti-Trump Tax Day Protest Plot. Breitbart.
  17. Pants on Fire claim that George Soros money went to Women's March protesters. PolitiFact.
  18. Trump Campaign: Mueller’s Investigation Is Financed By Soros Official. Big League Politics.
  19. Tomi Lahren tweet. Sep 24, 2017.
  20. For Fact-Checking Website Snopes, a Bigger Role Brings More Attacks. New York Times.
  21. Right-Wing Media Uses Parkland Shooting as Conspiracy Fodder. New York Times.
  22. Fake News Trolls Are Trying To Tie Greta Thunberg To George Soros. Forward.
  23. No, George Soros never said he made it his life’s mission to ‘destroy the United States’. Politifact.
  24. George Soros is a favorite target of the right — here's how that happened. Business Insider.
  25. George Soros calls Trump a ‘would-be dictator’ who ‘is going to fail’. CNBC.
  26. Who’s Afraid of George Soros?. Foreign Policy.
  27. Scapegoating George Soros: How media-savvy far-right activists spread lies. The Conversation.
  28. [Soros foundation to close in Turkey after attack by Erdogan]. Reuters.
  29. Hungary’s Anti-George Soros Campaign Is A Cautionary Tale For The U.S.. Huffington Post.
  30. Hungarian PM Slams Soros-Funded Advocacy Groups: They “Are Drawing A Living From The Immigration Crisis”, Breitbart
  31. The Intellectual Fighting Against Viktor Orban's War on George Soros. Haaretz.
  32. Russia Bans George Soros Charity as a Security Threat, CNBC
  33. A secret plot to stop Brexit, or an antisemitic dog whistle?, Rafael Behr, The Guardian, Feb 8, 2018
  34. The George Soros controversy shows what Brexiteers have become: irredeemable conspiracy theorists, Will Gore, The Independent, Feb 8, 2018
  35. Why the Right Loves to Hate George Soros. The Atlantic.
  36. George Soros Funded by the House of Rothschild by Joe Wolverton, II (02 May 2011 15:33) The New American (archived from February 5, 2013).
  37. See these sites for example.
  38. Soros Calls Mahathir A 'Menace' To Malaysia, The New York Times
  39. Malaysian ex-premier Mahathir and billionaire Soros end feud, Australian Broadcasting Corporation
  40. Hungarian Jews ask PM Orban to end 'bad dream' of anti-Semitism. Reuters.
  41. Breitbart Uses Nazi-Inspired Anti-Semitic Rhetoric In George Soros Attack. Media Matters.
  42. “Puppet master” : Beck's attacks on Soros are steeped in anti-Semitic stereotypes. Media Matters.
  43. Twitter[a w]
  44. Soros: The Life and Times of a Messianic Billionaire by Michael T. Kaufman (2002) Knopf. ISBN 9780375405853. p. 17.
  45. See the Wikipedia article on Hungary in World War II.
  46. An Epidemic of Dishonesty on the Right, Kevin D Williamson, National Review, Feb 22, 2018
  47. Glenn Beck: Making of the Puppet Master. This is a rush transcript from "Glenn Beck," November 11, 2010. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated. (Published November 12, 2010; Last Update January 14, 2015) Fox News (archived from January 26, 2019).
  48. See Glenn Beck's Anti-Semitic Attacks and George Soros: Too Anti-Communist for Glenn Beck. This also resulted in a truly awesome Daily Show episode.
  49. George Soros wasn't a Nazi, he was a 14-year-old Jew who hid from them: The 87-year-old billionaire has been the subject of smears for nearly 20 years, propagated by message boards and dispersed by Alex Jones, Donald Trump Jr., Roseanne Barr, and others by Avi Selk (Thursday 31 May 2018 17:53) The Independent.
  50. Roseanne Barr Apologizes To George Soros For Nazi Comments by Erik Pedersen (June 11, 2018 4:48pm) Deadline.
  51. George Soros Conservapedia (archived from January 5, 2019). "…he worked for the Nazis as a teenager, fingering and looting his compatriot Jews."
  52. Was George Soros an SS Officer or Nazi Collaborator During World War II? by David Emery (Published 28 November 2016; Updated 4 February 2018) Snopes.
  53. Media Matters sugar daddy is George Soros, WHO IDENTIFIED JEWS TO THE NAZIS, as he admitted on 60 Minutes by Ann Coulter (6:51 PM - Jun 11, 2015) Twitter (archived from August 10, 2018).
  54. @georgesoros, now a principle financial backer of violent #Antifa thugs, admits his collaboration with Hitler and says he has no regrets: by Dinesh D'Souza (3:30 AM — 2 Sep 2017) Twitter (archived from october 31, 2018).
  55. #Nazi collaborator #GeorgeSoros in his own words, while other Jews his age had died fighting Nazis in the Warsaw Ghetto by James Woods (5:03 PM - 18 Aug 2017) Twitter.
  56. Blaming the Victims 2.0 by Sara Elise Brown and Henry C. Theriault (June 2, 2013 at 7:55 pm) The Armenian Weekly.
  57. Beck falsely accuses Soros of Nazi collaboration on Kristallnacht anniversary. Media Matters. November 9, 2010.
  58. George Soros Interview 60 Minutes FULL. ReasonReport (YouTube). November 17, 2016.
  59. Smears of George Soros Resurface in Roseanne's Twitter Tantrum, Niraj Chokshi, New York Times, May 29, 2018
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