How a billionaire became the ultimate scapegoat for global political and economic anxiety
In short: George Soros has become a central figure in modern conspiracy theories, frequently cast as a puppet master orchestrating world events. From accusations of funding migrant caravans to claims of controlling governments, these narratives often recycle centuries-old antisemitic tropes, transforming a philanthropist into a convenient villain for diverse political agendas.
The mythology surrounding George Soros did not emerge in a vacuum. It is deeply rooted in historical antisemitic tropes, particularly those popularized by the 1905 fraudulent text, The Protocols of the Elders of Zion. By the late 1990s, these ancient narratives were adapted to target Soros, a Holocaust survivor and founder of the Open Society Foundations. Early disinformation campaigns, notably those linked to the Executive Intelligence Review, began framing his financial activities and support for democracy movements as part of a globalist plot to undermine national sovereignty.
The mechanism of these theories often involves inverting reality. Russian disinformation techniques, for instance, frequently recast Soros's advocacy for civil society and anti-corruption as evidence of espionage or attempts to destroy the state. This framing gained traction across Eastern Europe and the United States, where political figures and media outlets—such as Viktor Orbán’s government in Hungary or various American commentators—utilized Soros as a shorthand for an international cabal. By 2018, these allegations had moved from the fringes of the internet to the center of mainstream political discourse.
The consequences of these narratives have been severe. In 2018, conspiracy theories linking Soros to Central American migrant caravans were cited by perpetrators of high-profile acts of violence, including the Pittsburgh synagogue shooter. Furthermore, the scale of this misinformation is vast; during the 2020 George Floyd protests, negative social media mentions of Soros surged to 500,000 per day. Whether he is being blamed for currency crises, COVID-19 vaccination efforts, or the outcome of elections, the Soros myth serves as a persistent, adaptable tool for those seeking to explain complex global shifts through the lens of a singular, hidden enemy.
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