- Billionaires George Soros and the Koch Brothers have become repeated fodder for conspiracy theorists.
- They accuse Soros of funding violent Antifa attacks and the Koch Brothers of a myriad of dark dealings.
- Do these accusations have any credibility?
If you have an ear to dark recesses of the internet, you probably think George Soros is Satan incarnate. Just ask Newt Gingrich. The Koch Brothers? Demons of the apocalypse. Just ask a majority of the Left.
Gingrich went on a conspiratorial tirade against Soros live on Fox this week, claiming Soros helped elect pro-criminal, pro-violence district attorneys. And Fox shocked the world by shutting him down. Of course, that spawned hundreds of others into a new web of conspiracies, like this guy:
I didn’t realize how left Fox News has become until this very moment.
Newt Gingrich is 100% accurate with the best analysis I’ve ever heard. Apparently the truth is “verboten” on Fox.
My question is: What does George Soros have on the powers-that-be at Fox News? pic.twitter.com/QcUA7THQLw
— David Dudenhoefer #ReplaceRashida Tlaib (@Dude4Liberty) September 16, 2020
But what are they actually accused of, and do these accusations hold any weight in reality? Let’s dive right in.
George Soros Is the Right’s Evil Scapegoat
According to BBC, George Soros is,
The Hungarian emigre, who survived the Holocaust and fled the Communists, is thought to have made in total about $44bn through financial speculation.
He got his start in major wealth when he shorted the British pound in 1992 and became known as “the man who broke the Bank of England.” He’s also known for his massive philanthropic efforts through his organization, The Open Society. According to its website, Soros has given away more than $32 billion of his fortune.
But there’s another side to Soros, at least according to politically right-leaning conspiracy theorists.
In 2007, Fox News host Bill O’Reilly called Soros “off the charts dangerous.” In 2010, both Glenn Beck and Rush Limbaugh called him Barack Obama’s “Puppetmaster.”
Alex Jones, the radio host who’s prepared to eat his neighbors, claims Soros offered him $5 million to ‘pump bitcoin.’
But since Donald Trump was elected in 2016, the accusations have run rampant. Now politicians are openly accusing George Soros of funding an anarchist uprising. They claim he’s behind Antifa. And, as you can see in the video below, they’re starting to have a crossover with the ridiculous conspiracy theory, QAnon.
Rand Paul is echoing Trump’s “they flew here on plane and got fresh new cloths and someone is paying them” lies.
They’re deliberately referencing QAnon and the conspiracy that George Soros pays protesters.
The GOP is quickly becoming the Q party.pic.twitter.com/72wdKIAP74
— Joshua Potash (@JoshuaPotash) September 1, 2020
Now everyone from Hungary’s Prime Minister to the everyman’s conspiracy theorist living in his mother’s basement thinks Soros is behind the downfall of whatever is they’re trying to uphold. As early as 1992, people were throwing accusations Soros’ way. One anti-Semetic Hungarian leader claimed he was a “Puppet of Jerusalem.”
The Koch Brothers Are the Left’s Bogeyman
George Soros to the political-Right is the Koch Brothers (now just Koch Brother) to the political-Left. Democrats hate this family.
Their main gripe? They claim that these oil tycoons have been funding Republicans and using their billions to lobby for their self-centered interests. The Koch Brothers have been accused of everything from combating pro-Climate Change policies to being generally evil billionaires who work diligently against the interests of the 99 percent.
In 2014, ABC News quoted then-Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid as saying,
What is un-American is when shadowy billionaires pour unlimited money into our democracy to rig the system to benefit themselves and the wealthiest one percent… the Koch brothers seem to believe in an America where the system is rigged to benefit the very wealthy.
According to The New York Times, the Kochs have attempted to “rebrand” themselves. Good luck!
What’s the Truth?
Based on what we actually know, the accusations lobbied against George Soros are harder to prove. The claims about the Koch Brothers are generally open for the public to confirm for themselves.
The Koch family has indeed spent hundreds of millions of dollars backing their political interests through their right-wing super PAC, “Americans For Prosperity.” And yes, some of those interests are in direct conflict with pressing issues such as climate change.
Soros is ripe for conspiracies because he did earn his money in a questionable way, and as we’ve learned with Bill Gates, charitable contributions aren’t always so generous.
But we also know the Right is spinning an ever-growing web of conspiracies, which include Gates and Soros. QAnon has become a dangerous story that the Right has latched onto. It’s also anti-Semitic, like George Soros detractors.
Soros has infused money into social reform. According to Politico, he’s infused more than $3 million into district attorneys’ offices to help reduce “racial disparities in sentencing.” What a terrible person.
While Soros and the Kochs could indeed be evil, all we really know is that the Kochs are working for their political interests, which may not align with everyones. And George Soros is a convenient scapegoat who fits cleanly into the agenda of swaths of conspiracy theorists.
You know it’s gotten bad when even Fox News agrees.
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article do not necessarily reflect the views of CCN.com.
