False. Conspiracy theories (neo-nazi and nazi-racist groups, white supremacist christians, red brown components, italian fascists, Flat-Earth supporters and Chemtrails Trolls), about George Soros visible in this post are unfounded.
This article was produced by the Reuters Fact Check team. Read more about our work to fact-check social media posts here .
Social media users have been sharing an image online that makes several disparaging and false claims about George Soros. Some of these claims include Soros being a former Nazi, Soros “swearing to destroy the U.S.A.”, Soros owning ANTIFA and Black Lives Matter, and Soros paying for protesters.
Examples can be seen here and here .
George Soros is a billionaire philanthropist and founder of Open Society Foundations. He has been the target of multiple conspiracy theories and misinformation on social media ( here ). Previous Reuters fact checks debunking claims about Soros can be found here and here .
Open Society Foundations told Reuters via email that the claims made toward Soros in these posts are “false” and “do a disservice to the very bedrock of our democracy, as enshrined in the First Amendment.”
Soros is not a former Nazi
Reuters debunked a false claim that a photograph shows a young Soros in a Nazi uniform ( here ). During the time Nazis were active, Soros would not have met the age requirements to be in the Schutzstaffel. Soros and his family were Hungarian Jews who lived in Budapest during the war, disguising their identities for safety. In 1947 at the age of 17, Soros moved to London to attend university (more here ).
By the time Soros was 17, the fall of Nazi Germany had already happened. Soros could not possibly have been involved in the Nazi party which was active between 1920-1945. He is also a Hungarian Jew, further disproving this theory.
Soros never swore to “destroy the USA”
Reuters found no evidence of Soros ever saying this. Other fact checkers have also debunked this specific “quote” ( here , here ).
An older version of the quote attributes it to a Newsweek interview but there is no evidence Soros said this in their archive. One article quotes Steve Bannon comparing politics to war, saying, “They fight, look at [George] Soros and these other NGOs...they destroy you.” The article also states that, according to Bannon, Soros threatened to “destroy him personally.” ( here ).
George Soros does not “own” ANTIFA or Black Lives Matter. A spokesperson for Open Society Foundations told Reuters via email: “We proudly support organizations that promote civic engagement and champion the right of all Americans to petition their government for redress of grievances. Those protesting the death of Mr. Floyd and police brutality across the nation do so out of a deep and abiding concern for country; they don’t do so for pay from these foundations or any other, as some cynics claim.”
Black Lives Matter is a largely horizontal, grassroots, global organization ( bit.ly/373z22H ). Its co-founders, Opal Tometi, Patrisse Cullors, and Alicia Garza started the movement in 2013, after the death of Trayvon Martin. The co-founders recently told the New Yorker that Black Lives Matter “has always been somewhat decentralized” and operates in a horizontal manner: “We have always said the power goes on in the local chapter because they know what is going on”. ( here )
Read More from The Original Source:
https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-factcheck-false-george-soros-claims/fact-checkfalseclaims-about-george-soros-idUSKBN23P2XJ
