Liberal billionaire George Soros is tied to some of the most influential media figures in the United States and abroad through cash he provides to groups affiliated with them, according to a new study conducted by MRC Business.
"The over $32 billion that leftist billionaire George Soros poured into his organizations to spread his radical ‘open society’ agenda on abortion, Marxist economics, anti-Americanism, defunding the police, environmental extremism and LGBT fanaticism around the globe has paid dividends," MRC Business analysts Joseph Vazquez and Daniel Schneider wrote.
"In fact, his funding has helped him establish ties with some of the biggest name media personalities in the United States and abroad which help indoctrinate millions with his views on a day-to-day basis. MRC Business found at least 54 prominent media figures … who are tied to Soros through their connections to organizations that he funds," Vazquez and Schneider continued. "These include personalities like ‘NBC Nightly News’ anchor Lester Holt and The Washington Post executive editor Sally Buzbee."
MRC Business, part of the conservative Media Research Center, unveiled the final report of a three-part series exploring the extent of Soros’ influence over the international media. The study previously revealed that Soros shelled out at least $131 million between 2016 and 2020 to influence 253 media groups.
"This network of media ties allows Soros to hold sizable influence over the stories that the media covers, how they cover those stories, and what stories they don’t cover," Vazquez and Schneider wrote.
The study found at least 54 media figures linked to Soros’ cash, with Bloomberg News co-founder Matthew Winkler and CNN’s Christiane Amanpour also among them.
"The others encompass reporters, anchors, columnists, editors, news executives and journalists linked to organizations like ABC, CBS, NPR, Bloomberg News, Reuters, The New York Times and a host of additional outlets," Vazquez and Schneider wrote.
GEORGE SOROS CAN INFLUENCE GLOBAL MEDIA WITH TIES TO AT LEAST 253 ORGANIZATIONS, STUDY FINDS
Many of the media figures are tied to Soros through the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), which received 2.7 million from Soros-backed groups. Winkler, Holt, Buzbee and Amanpour are among the CPJ’s board members.
The MRC found examples of several CPJ board members defending Soros in their news coverage, both subtly and aggressively.
Not all the media heavyweights tied to Soros’ cash are in front of the camera. NBCUniversal News Group Chairman Cesar Conde, who runs NBC News, MSNBC and CNBC, is also tied to Soros’ cash through the Aspen Institute, which awarded the NBC chief its Henry Crown Fellowship. Soros’ groups gave more than $1.1 million to the Aspen Institute between 2016 and 2020, according to the study.
WHITE HOUSE-LINKED GROUP BACKED BY GEORGE SOROS WAGES BEHIND-THE-SCENES WAR ON GASOLINE
Journalists and news industry executives with roles at The Marshall Project and ProPublica are also tied to Soros’ deep pockets, as both groups received more than $1.2 million from the far-left billionaire from 2016 through 2020.
National Public Radio and PolitiFact are also at least partially funded by Soros-backed groups, according to the study.