Billionaire financier George Soros has poured over $80 million into groups attempting to orchestrate a nationwide censorship project ahead of 2024 election.
In April 2024, the Free Press published a petition it had sent to major tech companies with signatures from over 200 nonprofit organizations demanding they impose greater censorship measures to “protect democracy” in 2024, “as at least 60 countries have national elections this year and there is evidence of continued democratic backsliding and rising authoritarianism across the globe.”
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“More Than 200 Groups Urge Leading Tech Platforms to Implement Election-Integrity Policies to Protect Democracy Worldwide,” wrote the nonprofit Free Speech in its press release. They criticized the companies for becoming lenient on their speech regulations, expressing dismay over their reduction of “interventions necessary to keep online platforms […] safe and healthy,” insisting they take “swift action” to protect “democracy.”
They then demanded the companies introduce rules such as: suppressing content suggesting the 2020 election was stolen or compromised; disclose if content is AI-generated; curtail what can qualifying for an advertisement; hide content that has been flagged; and making platform data transparent to journalists and academics.
The recipients included YouTube parent company Google, TikTok, Reddit, Instagram, Twitter/X, Rumble, and Twitch.
According to an analysis by the Washington, DC-based think tank Media Research Center (MRC), Soros’ foundations (such as the Foundation to Promote Open Society and Open Society Foundations) collectively funneled more than $80 million into the signatories.
In particular, Foundation to Promote Open Society funneled over $600,000 into Free Press from 2020 to 2021 alone.
The group that took the most from Soros was Global Witness, having received over $20 million between 2016 and 2022. Global Witness previously pressured Facebook and TikTok to ratchet up speech regulations ahead of the 2022 midterm elections.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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