Hungarian-American philanthropist and billionaire George Soros continues to remain a target of conspiracy theorists who believe he is part of a shady liberal cabal determined to undermine conservatives.
Former president Donald Trump has repeatedly mentioned Soros on social media over his connection to Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg, who indicted Trump last month over a hush money scandal with adult film star Stormy Daniels. Trump has denied any wrongdoing in that case.
With his name still ringing on social media, a clip of Soros being introduced by Hillary Clinton onstage went viral this week. Allegations alongside the clip included that it had been filmed in the "late 80s", suggesting the billionaire had been plotting with the Clintons since then.
The Claim
A tweet by user @AwakenedOutlaw, posted on April 23, 2023, viewed 4.7 million times included a video clip of what appeared to be Hillary Clinton inviting George Soros to speak on stage.
The tweet stated: "Remember that time when #HillaryClinton introduced her friend #GeorgeSoros and his interest to get involved in US elections? The Internet sure doesn't. Why? Because it has been wiped from existence for the most part. Turns out I found a copy of the file I had archived years ago. Be a real shame if people save and shared this widely."
Asked, "Anyone know what year this was?" @AwakenedOutlaw tweeted: "That I do not know. It would appear to be the late 80's perhaps?"
Responding to the comment "So Soros has been working closely with the Democrats and their Globalist Republican allies all this time", @AwakenedOutlaw added: "Yup. The game has been rigged for a long time."
The Facts
George Soros was among the top contributors to Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign, donating millions in her fight for the White House, which may have perhaps fomented the notion of a conspiratorial link between the two.
However, the clip was not filmed in the late 80s, as @AwakenedOutlaw speculated. It was taken from the "Take Back America Conference" in 2004, a left-leaning political event organized by Campaign for America's Future.
Soros' introduction by Clinton was reported by The Washington Post in June 2004, which noted that Soros had spent millions of dollars funding anti-George W. Bush groups at the time.
The clip on Twitter did not include the date which can be clearly seen in the CSPAN clip, neither was it particularly well-hidden as @AwakenedOutlaw suggested; it was uploaded to CSPAN in 2004 with a full transcript of Clinton and Soros' speeches, lasting nearly an hour.
Clinton says during the video that she first "came across his (Soros's) work in the former Soviet Union, in Eastern Europe, when I was privileged to travel there, both on my own and with my husband on behalf of our country, and I saw the awakening that was occurring as people who had been oppressed, who had been turned into automatons were all of a sudden saying, well, what about my future?
"How will I choose to live? And George Soros was there, from Russia, to Slovakia, all through the region, willing to invest his own resources to open universities, to set up all kinds of civic organizations, to give people a chance to do what we take for granted in this country, to associate, to speak out, to be part of something greater than ourselves.
"And I saw the results on the ground in those countries."
Newsweek was unable to find an exact date of when Clinton met Soros, whether in the 1980s or otherwise. Politico reported in 2016 that Hillary Clinton made her first state visit to Russia in January 1994.
In any case, the footage that was shared on Twitter was not from the 1980s as was suggested on Twitter.
Soros continues to face scrutiny from conservatives for his support of and relationships with powerful progressives across the globe. Last month, Representative Marjorie Taylor Green (R-GA) questioned Soros' citizenship, ahead of Trump's indictment in Manhattan, tweeting: "No other person has undermined our democracy more than George Soros.
"Why is [he] still allowed to maintain his citizenship?".
The Ruling
False.
The viral video shared on Twitter is not from the 1980s, as was suggested by the user who posted it.
It was taken from a speech in 2004, at a conference attended by left-leaning politicians and invitees. Although Hillary Clinton traveled to eastern Europe in the 1990s it's not immediately clear when she first met Soros.
FACT CHECK BY Newsweek's Fact Check team
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
