George Soros and Facebook, Soros using Facebook's new rules to bias what news people read

Because of misleading news coverage, a lot of Americans apparently already believe that "fake" news is a big problem (survey available here).  Here is some background on the changes in how Facebook will protect people from "fake" news.

Facebook has announced its plan to tackle fake news by harnessing fact checking and, potentially, making disputed stories appear lower in users’ News Feeds. . . . 

The social network announced Thursday that it will make it easier for users to report fake news when they see it, which they can do by clicking the upper right hand corner of a post. If enough people report a story as fake, Facebook will pass it to third-party fact-checking organizations that are part of the nonprofit Poynter Institute's International Fact-Checking Network. 

Five fact-checking and news organizations are working with the company on this: ABC News, The Associated Press, FactCheck.org, Politifact and Snopes. Facebook says this group is likely to expand. . . .

For information on why this is a problem using these fact checkers see this article available here.

 But the problem gets even worse.  Enter George Soros who will be funding an organization to flag stories that he believes to be false and also to fund fact checking.

The International Fact-Checking Network (IFCN) drafted a code of five principles for news websites to accept, and Facebook yesterday announced it will work with “third-party fact checking organizations” that are signatories to the code of principles. . . . 

IFCN is hosted by the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. A cursory search of the Poynter Institute website finds that Poynter’s IFCN is openly funded by Soros’ Open Society Foundations as well as the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Google, and the National Endowment for Democracy. 

Poynter’s IFCN is also funded by the Omidyar Network, which is the nonprofit for liberal billionaire eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. The Omidyar Network has partnered with the Open Society on numerous projects and it has given grants to third parties using the Soros-funded Tides Foundation.  Tides is one of the largest donors to left-wing causes in the U.S. 

Another significant Poynter Institute donor is the Craig Newmark Foundation, the charitable organization established by Craigslist Founder Craig Newmark. On Monday, just days before the announcement of the Facebook partnership, Poynter issued a press release revealing that Newmark donated $1 million to the group to fund a faculty chair in journalism ethics. . . . .

and from the UK Daily Mail:

Billionaire Clinton donor George Soros is among a line-up of wealthy liberal figures who will fund Facebook's fake news fact checker.  

The 86-year-old Hungarian financier's Open Society Foundation is listed among organizations which are backing The International Fact Checking Network, the body tasked with flagging bogus news stories to social media users, on its website. 

Soros, a staunch Democrat who tried to block George W. Bush's campaign in 2004, has given $25million to Clinton and causes dear to her.  

Other donors involved in the new fact checking feature include eBay founder Pierre Omidyar who has committed more than $30million to the Clintons and their charities. Google, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the National Endowment for Democracy are also funding the pilot.   

The line-up feeds criticism from right-wing commentators that the new fact checking feature will be biased towards left-wing causes and could interfere with the social media feeds of millions of voters. . . .

Soros, Bloomberg, Steyer, and other billionaires make huge donations to Democrats to help out with Senate and House elections

It is interesting to see Senator Harry Reid complain about wealthy individuals helping out Republicans when it appears as if Democrats are getting more donations from billionaires than are Republicans.  Harry Reid should know as these donations are also going to Harry Reid's own Senate Majority PAC.  From Politifact:

We cross-checked the Open Secrets list of the top 100 individuals donating to outside spending groups in the current election against the Forbes list of the world’s billionaires and found that, as of June 19, there were 22 individuals on the Open Secrets list who were billionaires. Of those 22 billionaires, 13 -- or more than half -- gave predominantly to liberal groups or groups affiliated with the Democratic Party. The other nine gave predominantly to conservative groups. (A list of billionaires and how much they donated can be found here.) . . .

From Politico: 

STEYER: Climate-change activist Tom Steyer gave the biggest super PAC donation in this month's reports: $7.5 million to his own group, NextGen Climate. Steyer, who made his fortune as a successful hedge-fund manager, also spread some of that money around. NextGen gave a half-million dollars to Senate Majority PAC, the biggest Senate Democratic super PAC, and $150,000 to the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund, another environmental group. 

BLOOMBERG: Michael Bloomberg is staying plenty active in his post-mayoral days. Aside from funding his gun-control-focused super PAC, Bloomberg has written checks to Senate Majority PAC and super PACs that backed GOP Sens. Thad Cochran and Lindsey Graham during their primary battles. Most recently, the former New York City mayor donated $2 million to Women Vote!—the largest contribution the EMILY's List super PAC has ever received. Only Steyer has given more money to super PACs this election season. 

SOROS: Democratic financier George Soros's checkbook has been active this summer: The prolific donor gave $500,000 apiece to House Majority PAC and the League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund. But that million dollars wasn't his family's only big outlay so far this summer. Soros's daughter, Andrea Soros Colombel, gave $250,000 to Planned Parenthood Votes. . . .

Information on six other billionaires is available here.  The list leaves out Tom Steyer's brother, Jim.

Jim Steyer: Another billionaire joins Michael Bloomberg and George Soros in pushing for gun control

From Politico:

. . . The biggest potential asset Jim Steyer brings to partnership is his link to the grassroots. Nearly a million parents and 145,000 teachers subscribe to ratings services he runs to assess the quality of children’s TV programs, video games and educational apps. 

Jim Steyer sees them as an untapped political force. And he intends to mobilize them. “Kids deserve a voice as powerful as the NRA is for gun owners, as powerful as the AARP is for seniors,” he said, “and we are going to deliver that.” . . . 

 Despite his loyalty to the Clintons, Steyer has tried to remain nonpartisan in recent decades to protect the integrity of his nonprofits. A registered independent, he says with pride that he does not donate to political candidates. Ever. 

Told that campaign finance records show he made a $2,300 donation to Hillary Clinton in 2007, he falls uncharacteristically silent for a moment. Must be from his wife, he says.
But it’s in his name. 

“Hillary?” he asks. Another pause. “OK,” he says finally, sounding sheepish. “One time. By mistake.” (The records also show a contribution to John Kerry in 2002, but no other state or federal donations.) . . . .

Soros linked to LightSquared Controversy

With one billionaire supporter of Obama linked to the Solyndra scandal, now there is another Obama supporter linked to the LightSquared problems. It seems clear why so many billionaires support big government because it provides all sorts of wealth transfers to them. From Fox News:

Billionaire financier and liberal activist George Soros has been financially linked to LightSquared, which is at the center of allegations that the White House pressured a Pentagon commander to change his prepared congressional testimony to benefit the Virginia-based telecom company that once received a $90,000 investment from President Obama.
LightSquared is seeking to establish a new wireless broadband network that many, including Air Force Gen. William Shelton, believe could interfere with critical GPS systems used by the U.S. military. But Shelton, head of Space Command, confided to lawmakers that he thought his testimony had been leaked to LightSquared, and that he had rejected requests from the White House to downplay his concerns.
The company is being funded by private equity titan Philip Falcone, the founder of Harbinger Capital Partners, a hedge fund that has counted Soros as a "significant" investor since 2009, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Soros also funds four groups that have lobbied on behalf of LightSquared in regulatory and policy fights. . . . .
A spokeswoman for Open Society Foundations did not respond to a request for comment. . . .

Also note how all this fits in with Obama's DOJ shutting down the AT&T; - T-Mobile merger. Economist will tell you if competitors are upset about a merger, it is likely to be pro-competitive. If they are supportive, it is more likely that the reverse is true. In this case, Sprint is very upset about the merger. Yet, Obama's DOJ is stopping the merger. From Fox News:

Soros also funds four groups that have lobbied on behalf of LightSquared in regulatory and policy fights.
The Washington Examiner first reported this week that the Public Interest Spectrum Coalition, which includes the Soros-funded groups Free Press, Media Access Project, the New America Foundation and Public Knowledge, filed a petition with the Federal Communications Commission in April 2010 supporting Harbinger's attempt to become a national player in the wireless industry over the objections of AT&T; and Verizon. . . . .

Note the claims over increased jobs by AT&T;.

AT&T; threw a wild card into the mix earlier this week. On the eve of the Justice Department suit, the company promised to return 5,000 call center jobs to the U.S., which had previously been outsourced abroad. The company also committed to maintaining the two companies’ existing call-center workforce of 25,000. . . .

Some more on Solyndra at Fox News:

Top executives from a bankrupt California solar energy company pleaded the Fifth Amendment more than a dozen times Friday in a congressional hearing that went nowhere but gave members the opportunity to pose dozens of questions about the loss of a half billion dollars in government loans.

Solyndra Inc. CEO Brian Harrison and the company's chief financial officer, Bill Stover, had notified the House Energy and Commerce Committee they were going to invoke their Fifth Amendment right to decline to testify to avoid self-incrimination.

That didn't mean lawmakers didn't have questions for the executives, leading to complaints from committee Democrats that House Republicans were badgering the witnesses.

The Supreme Court has ruled it's considered prosecutorial misconduct when the government calls witnesses with the flagrant intent of questioning them to invoke their Fifth Amendment, said Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif.

Oversight Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns, who led the hearing, said that Democrats had agreed to the format ahead of time.

I agreed to the format. That doesn't mean I agreed to badgering the witnesses, said ranking committee member Diana DeGette, D-Colo.

Rep. Phil Gingrey, R-Ga., told Fox News that the members asked questions that they would have liked to have answers. But he said the executives used their Fifth Amendment rights becaise they feared their testimony would incriminate themselves. . . .

Soros gives back investor money so as to avoid Dodd Frank reporting requirements

Soros gave back enough money to investors to avoid the new reporting requirements. From The Street:

George Soros, the billionaire hedge-fund manager and philanthropist best known for breaking the Bank of England in 1992, will return capital to investors in order to avoid reporting requirements under the Dodd Frank reform act.

Soros will return money to investors by the end of the year, Bloomberg reported Tuesday, citing two people briefed on the matter. Soros Fund Management will focus on managing assets for his family, according to a letter to the firm's investors. Soros will turn 81 on August 12. . . .

Initial media reports trumpeted the end of Soros' 40-year career as a hedge-fund manager, although the billionaire investor's firm is far from being done. Soros will return less than $1 billion to external investors, a drop in the bucket compared to the firm's total assets of more than $25 billion.

The reason? Under new requirements from the Dodd Frank act, hedge funds are required to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission by March 2012 if the fund continues to manage more than $150 million in assets for outside investors. The new requirements would call for funds to report information about the assets they manage, potential conflicts of interest, and information on investors and employees. The act allows an exemption for what the Commission considers "family office" advisers.

"We have relied until now on other exemptions from registration which allowed outside shareholders whose interests aligned with those of the family investors to remain invested in Quantum," the letter continued, according to the Bloomberg report. "As those other exemptions are no longer available under the new regulations, Soros Fund Management will now complete the transition to a family office that it began eleven years ago." . . .

My son Maxim has top two most read news stories today at Fox News

Billionaire George Soros Trying To Stack the Courts, Critics Say

'Project Gunrunner' Whistleblower Says ATF Sent Him Termination Notice

Soros helping Mark Dayton raise money for Minnesota recount

From the left wing Talking Point Memo:

As Minnesota Public Radio reports, Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mark Dayton has a very special fundraiser coming up, to help pay for his efforts in the state recount. The headliner at the December 13th event will be none other than former President Bill Clinton.

But that's not all. It will also be held in New York, at the home of George Soros. . . .

Soros says that China's Communist government is better than ours

Soros got the government that he wanted for the last two years. He supported Obama and the Democrats who controlled congress. Still he says this:

"Today China has not only a more vigorous economy, but actually a better functioning government than the United States."

The Soros Empire

There doesn't seem to be anyone who balances out the impact that Soros has.

Almost every major liberal organization, think tank or media outlet has been the beneficiary of Mr. Soros' largesse. The Nation magazine, Mother Jones, Media Matters, MoveOn.org, NPR and the Center for American Progress - all together they have received tens of millions of dollars from the financier. They serve as front groups and propaganda vehicles to promote Mr. Soros' brand of transnational socialism.

He has poured hundreds of millions into the former communist bloc. The former Soviet empire has thus become the Soros empire. Mr. Soros has worked behind the scenes to destabilize and influence governments such as Croatia, Slovakia, Serbia, Georgia, Kosovo and Ukraine. In the process, he has plundered countries' natural resources. . . .

Should a donor to NPR be telling them what the reporters he pays for should be investigating?

First there is the question of whether it is even proper for NPR to take a donation from someone as left wing as Soros. Soros, who funds organizations such as Media Matters, has an obvious agenda. The fact that he is telling NPR what general topics the reporters he is paying for will investigate is also troubling. My question is what states these investigative reporters will be located. Will they be spread around randomly? Will each state get one? Will they primarily be in Republican states?

billionaire liberal icon George Soros has donated $1.8 million to hire 100 new reporters for 50 of its member stations.

The money will go to launch a project called Impact of Government, which Soros' Open Society Foundation says will "bring greater transparency and accountability to the workings of state capitals across the country."

The group, which describes its mission as building "tolerant democracies whose governments are accountable to their citizens," calls it a response to the decline in news coverage of state legislatures. . . .

George Soros has spent $45.4 million to move the judiciary to the left

Is there anything that Soros isn't spending his money to move the country to the left on?

During the past decade, a lavishly funded, highly coordinated campaign has been under way to shift America's judiciary fundamentally to the left by keeping conservative judges off state courts. This campaign is being orchestrated and funded by the Open Society Institute (OSI), the political arm of billionaire hedge-fund manager George Soros. According to a study released this week by the American Justice Partnership, OSI has spent at least $45.4 million to promote the so-called merit selection system and reduce the influence of citizens and their elected representatives when it comes to picking judges. . . .

Soros on companies getting money from government

I find Soros' claim of justified resentment ironic given the amount of money that the Obama administration is giving to Soros. For example, the money given to drilling for oil off of Brazil.

The big profits made by some of Wall Street’s leading banks are “hidden gifts” from the state, and taxpayer resentment of such companies is “justified”, George Soros, the fund manager, said in an interview with the Financial Times.

“Those earnings are not the achievement of risk-takers,” Mr Soros said. “These are gifts, hidden gifts, from the government, so I don’t think that those monies should be used to pay bonuses. There’s a resentment which I think is justified.” . . .

I like this:

“With the too-big-to-fail concept comes a need to regulate the payments that employees receive,”

Why just regulating what employees receive? Why not what the shareholders like Soros makes? Does this mean that the government can regulate what Soros makes?

Infamous Lancet Study Funded by George Soros

Right before the 2006 general election, the Lancet came out with a study claiming that 650,000 Iraqis had died in the war and it aftermath. The study got worldwide attention, much of it unquestioning. Well, it turns out that almost half the study was "funded by the antiwar billionaire George Soros." My problem isn't the funding, my problem is that the source of the funding wasn't revealed when the study came out immediately before the election. What is even worse is that this fact is not considered newsworthy by most of the media now. A Google news search on the term "Lancet Soros study 650,000" got only six news hits (The Times of London, The Spectator in the UK, The New York Post, Fox News, Wired News, and one other minor source). Trying "Soros Lancet Iraq" got only 15 news hits, but some of those were columnists and not news stories.