George Soros is a Hungarian American billionaire and philanthropist. Until recently, he was most famous for founding Central European University in Budapest. But these days his name and reputation carry a very different meaning.
Soros’s name and donations are repeatedly invoked by right-wing pundits and politicians in discussions about immigration, protests, pandemics, elections and more. Bloggers, podcasters and even some politicians are convinced that the businessman funds left-wing and anti-authoritarian dissent in the United States.
How did a Hungarian businessman who was relatively unknown in the U.S. before the 2016 election come to be held responsible for so much? And why have conspiracy theories about him persisted?
Copyright 2020 WAMU 88.5