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?
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