The recurring claim that George Soros is paying the protesters

Rerun #14

Mar 2026 – Apr 2026 The March 2026 "No Kings" protests

On March 28, 2026, the day of the nationwide "No Kings" protests, Fox News Digital published an investigation by Asra Nomani. It said a network of about 500 groups with an estimated $3 billion in combined annual revenue was behind the protests. It also described Indivisible, which Fox said a copy of the march permit named as lead coordinator, as "funded by billionaire George Soros." Snopes said it had not seen the permit. Social media posts then repeated the claim. Snopes quoted one Facebook post saying Soros and Neville Roy Singham "fund the network." On April 3, Snopes reported that Soros' Open Society Foundations gave Indivisible $3 million to spend over 2023 and 2024. An Open Society spokesperson said the money was for general operations, not a specific event, and Snopes found "no evidence of Soros' nonprofit directly funding" the protests.

• Fox News article

  According to a copy of the permit for the 'flagship' march in St. Paul, Minn., Indivisible, a national well-heeled Democratic political advocacy organization funded by billionaire George Soros, is the lead coordinator for the protest.

• facebook.com social post

  Socialists like Neville Roy Singham and George Soros fund the network.

Sources: Yahoo News reliable · themedialine.org needs a second source · Fox News needs a second source

Correction, 2026-10-23: Attributed the claim that the march permit named Indivisible as lead coordinator to Fox News, since Snopes could not verify the permit, and restored the full sentence in the Fox News quote.

Rerun #13

Jan 2026 – Feb 2026 Minneapolis protests against immigration enforcement

Trump said Minnesota protesters included "many highly paid professional agitators and anarchists" (Jan. 18) and called them "paid agitators and insurrectionists" (Jan. 20). PolitiFact found no evidence for this and rated the claim False. It also noted that "None of these politicians explained who they believed was underwriting the protests." A New York Post report, as summarized by The National News Desk, linked Indivisible Twin Cities to the "No Kings" protests, which it said "reportedly received millions of dollars" from Open Society Foundations between 2018 and 2023. The Washington Free Beacon and the Daily Caller News Foundation tied groups active in the protests to past Open Society grants: to the Sunrise Movement, and $300,000 in 2020 to Headwaters Foundation for Justice, a Minneapolis funder of local groups. None of these three reports documents any individual being paid to protest.

• komonews.com article

  reportedly received millions of dollars from Soros’ Open Society Foundations between 2018 and 2023

• freebeacon.com article

  Open Society Foundations has sent it $2 million since 2019

• dailycaller.com article

  financial support from a nonprofit backed by the Soros family’s Open Society Foundations

• youtube.com video

  After an apparent protester shouted out, interrupting his speech on Tuesday, President Donald Trump called the protesters "paid agitators," "paid insurrectio…"

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · komonews.com needs a second source · freebeacon.com needs a second source · dailycaller.com needs a second source

Correction, 2026-10-23: Corrected the description of the New York Post report: it linked Indivisible Twin Cities to the "No Kings" protests, which it said reportedly received Open Society money, but did not state that Indivisible itself received the grants.

Rerun #12

Oct 2025 October 2025 "No Kings" protests

On Oct. 19, 2025, aboard Air Force One, President Trump told reporters about the Oct. 18 "No Kings" protests: "I guess it was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics," adding "we're checking it out." Forbes reported that he offered no evidence. In a statement quoted in an Oct. 16 Fox News Digital article, Sen. Ted Cruz said the march was "organized by Soros operatives and funded by Soros money." On Oct. 24, Snopes rated viral posts saying billionaires including Soros put nearly $300 million into the protests "Mostly False." It found that some organizing groups had received grants from charities linked to Soros, but that billionaires did not spend $300 million funding the protests.

• Newsweek (pre–2013) article

  I guess (the protest) was paid for by Soros and other radical left lunatics,

• Fox News article

  This politicized march is being organized by Soros operatives and funded by Soros money.

• Snopes article

  Billionaires did not spend $300 million on funding the "No Kings" protests.

Sources: Newsweek (pre–2013) needs a second source · forbes.com needs a second source · Snopes reliable · Snopes reliable

Correction, 2026-10-23: Removed a reference to Axios, which is not among the cited sources, and clarified that the Cruz quote comes from a statement in an Oct. 16 Fox News Digital article.

Rerun #11

Sep 2025 After Charlie Kirk's killing: White House scrutiny and a DOJ directive

In a Fox News interview, Trump said protesters "get paid for their profession from Soros and other people." He added that he thought there was "a RICO case against him and other people" (Bloomberg, Sept 12, 2025). AP reported on Sept 17 that, without establishing any link to the shooting, the White House pointed to Indivisible and OSF as potential subjects of scrutiny. Asked for examples, the White House pointed to protests where officers were injured, and to goggles and face masks handed out at the Los Angeles immigration protests. ABC reported on Sept 25 that Aakash Singh, a senior official in Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche's office, told US attorney's offices in at least seven states to prepare investigations of OSF. OSF told ABC and Reuters that the accusations were "politically motivated attacks on civil society."

• Bloomberg article

  get paid for their profession from Soros and other people

• fortune.com article

  pointed to Indivisible, a progressive activist network, and the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros

• ABC News article

  The DOJ order was sent to U.S. attorney's offices in at least seven states.

Sources: Bloomberg reliable · fortune.com reliable · ABC News reliable · kfgo.com needs a second source

Rerun #10

Aug 2025 Trump calls for RICO charges against George and Alex Soros

In a Truth Social post, President Trump wrote that "George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America" (Axios, Al Jazeera, Euronews). Al Jazeera called this "a baseless claim that the president has pushed before." As an example, it cited Trump's 2018 post about protesters against Brett Kavanaugh's nomination, which said their signs were "Paid for by Soros and others." Euronews reported that Trump "did not offer any evidence in his post." An Open Society Foundations spokesperson told Axios, Reuters (as reported by Al Jazeera) and Euronews: "These accusations are outrageous and false."

• truthsocial.com social post

  George Soros, and his wonderful Radical Left son, should be charged with RICO because of their support of Violent Protests, and much more, all throughout the United States of America

• Axios article

  Soros, and his group of psychopaths, have caused great damage to our Country! That includes his Crazy, West Coast friends. Be careful, we're watching you!

Sources: Axios reliable · Al Jazeera reliable · euronews.com reliable

Rerun #9

Jun 2025 Los Angeles protests against immigration raids

CBS News reported on June 11, 2025 that "Conspiracy theories alleging rich donors orchestrated the protests have also resurfaced, echoing patterns from past demonstrations." In one widely shared claim, social media users falsely presented images of stacked bricks as supplies Soros had planted. CBS traced one bricks photo, which a poster said was left near "ICE facilities," to a Malaysian building-materials company's website. PEN America reported that the photo was shared on X with claims that "Soros funded organizations" had stockpiled the bricks. CBS also noted that rumors about pallets of bricks had been debunked during the 2020 racial justice protests and came back in 2021 and 2022.

• cbsnews.com article

  One widely shared claim involved images of stacked bricks, which social media users falsely presented as supplies planted by billionaire George Soros to incite violence.

• pen.org article

  An image of a pile of bricks has been amplified on X, claiming that the bricks were intentionally stockpiled by "Democrat militants" and "Soros funded organizations" near ICE facilities

Sources: cbsnews.com reliable · pen.org needs a second source · euvsdisinfo.eu needs a second source · Public Broadcasting Service reliable

Rerun #8

Mar 2025 – Apr 2025 Musk links Soros and Hoffman to Tesla protests via ActBlue; fake Trump post about Soros paying protesters

On March 8, 2025, according to Anadolu (Fox News reported the post as Sunday morning), Elon Musk posted on X that "an investigation" had found five ActBlue-funded groups responsible for the Tesla protests. In the same post he listed George Soros and Reid Hoffman among ActBlue's funders (Anadolu, Fox News). Fox and Fortune reported this as a claim that Soros and Hoffman were funding the protests. Hoffman denied funding any Tesla demonstrations. Soros did not reply to Fox, and Fortune said neither Soros's Open Society nonprofit nor ActBlue replied to it. After the April 5 "Hands Off" rallies, a screenshot claiming to be a Trump Truth Social post saying Soros paid protesters circulated online. Snopes rated it Fake: there was no such post on Trump's account.

• x.com social post

  ActBlue funders include George Soros, Reid Hoffman, Herbert Sandler, Patricia Bauman, and Leah Hunt-Hendrix

• Yahoo News article

  there was no evidence of the post on Trump's Truth Social account and the screenshot displayed several signs of being digitally created

Sources: Fox News needs a second source · aa.com.tr needs a second source · fortune.com reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Correction, 2026-10-23: Clarified that the March 8 date comes from Anadolu; Fox News reported the post as made on Sunday morning.

Rerun #7

Apr 2024 – May 2024 Campus protests over Gaza

On April 26, 2024, the New York Post published an article headlined "George Soros is paying student radicals who are fueling nationwide explosion of Israel-hating protests." Social media users shared it, including Reps. Elise Stefanik and Beth Van Duyne on Facebook and Kari Lake on X, according to PolitiFact. PolitiFact found that OSF had given grants to some of the groups the Post named, but that the money and the protesters were separated by "several degrees of separation." Snopes rated the claim "Mixture." In early May, Rep. Nancy Mace said on Fox News that Soros-funded groups were involved. Speaker Johnson said the FBI should find out whether the protests were "funded by, I don't know, George Soros or overseas entities," according to The Hill.

• PolitiFact article

  We all knew it but now it's confirmed …

• Yahoo News article

  I think [FBI officials] need to look at the root causes and find out if some of this was funded by, I don't know, George Soros or overseas entities

• Yahoo News article

  There's no proof that these are funded by George Soros, by the way… their folks have denied that.

Sources: Snopes reliable · PolitiFact reliable · Yahoo News reliable

Rerun #6

May 2020 – Jun 2020 George Floyd protests

On May 28, 2020, commentator Candace Owens tweeted that George Soros was "funding the chaos" in Minneapolis through his Open Society Foundations. OSF replied that Soros and the foundations "oppose all violence and do not pay people to protest." On June 1, PolitiFact rated the claim False and said it found no evidence that Soros or OSF had funded any group that paid for street protests in Minneapolis. In the days that followed, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller posted on Facebook that protesters were "organized and paid for by George Soros." The AP cited an ADL analysis showing negative Soros tweets jumping from about 20,000 to more than 500,000 a day. The AP called the claim "a new take on an old hoax," noting that earlier versions targeted the 2017 Women's March. It also cited the Institute for Strategic Dialogue, which found 68,746 Facebook mentions of Soros in May 2020. The previous record was 38,326, in October 2018, during the migrant caravan claims.

• PolitiFact article

  He is funding the chaos via his Open Society Foundation.

• texastribune.org article

  The so-called 'protestors' are, in fact, domestic terrorists who were organized and paid for by George Soros to further divide our country.

• timesofisrael.com article

  We have definitely seen a very dramatic increase in the number of anti-Soros conspiracy theories

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · texastribune.org reliable · timesofisrael.com needs a second source · ksat.com needs a second source

Rerun #5

Oct 2018 – Nov 2018 Migrant caravan

On Oct 17, 2018, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) tweeted a video that he said showed cash being given to women and children in Honduras to "join the caravan & storm the US border." In the tweet he asked "Soros? US-backed NGOs?" Snopes found the video was shot in Chiquimula, Guatemala, of people who were already in the caravan. Gaetz corrected the location but kept the Soros question. The Open Society Foundations said neither Soros nor the foundation was funding the group. FactCheck.org called the claim "unsubstantiated" and said the video had been "shared tens of thousands of times" after Gaetz and later President Trump posted it. On Oct 31, Trump told reporters he "wouldn't be surprised" if Soros or someone else was paying for the caravan. The Hill reported this and cited a Washington Post report that the theory had spread among conservatives, including Fox News hosts Laura Ingraham, Maria Bartiromo and Lou Dobbs.

• x.com social post

  BREAKING: Footage in Honduras giving cash 2 women & children 2 join the caravan & storm the US border @ election time. Soros? US-backed NGOs? Time to investigate the source!

• The Hill article

  "I don't know who, but I wouldn't be surprised," Trump said. "A lot of people say yes."

Sources: Snopes reliable · factcheck.org reliable · The Hill reliable · thesoufancenter.org needs a second source

Rerun #4

Oct 2018 Kavanaugh confirmation protests (Oct. 2018)

On Oct. 5, 2018, Trump tweeted that protesters confronting senators about Kavanaugh were "paid professionals" and that their signs were "Paid for by Soros and others." Less than two hours earlier, Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley had told Fox Business that he "tend[s] to believe" Soros was paying protesters. CNN and NBC News reported that no evidence supported the claim. BuzzFeed News reported that Trump repeated the paid-protester claim on Oct. 6. Kavanaugh was expected to be confirmed that day.

• CNN article

  "The very rude elevator screamers are paid professionals only looking to make Senators look bad. Don't fall for it!"

• CNN article

  "I have heard so many people believe that. I tend to believe it."

• buzzfeednews.com article

  "paid professional protesters who are handed expensive signs."

Sources: CNN reliable · NBC News reliable · buzzfeednews.com needs a second source

Rerun #3

Aug 2017 – Sep 2017 Alex Jones claims Charlottesville protests were staged and funded by liberal interests, citing Soros

After the Aug. 11–12, 2017 protests and counter-protests in Charlottesville, Jones said in videos on Infowars.com, as PolitiFact summarized it, that they were staged acts of civil unrest funded by liberal interests. He cited supposed emails between the Democratic Party and George Soros. PolitiFact searched the leaked DNC and Podesta emails and Clinton's State Department emails, found nothing like what Jones described, and rated the claim Pants on Fire on Aug. 14, 2017. In June 2020, PolitiFact listed the Charlottesville claim alongside the Women's March claim as examples of "false claims" about Soros funding and even orchestrating protests. On Aug. 20, 2017, a "We the People" petition was created on the White House site asking that Soros be declared a domestic terrorist.

• PolitiFact article

  said the Charlottesville, Va., protests and counter-protests on Aug. 11-12, were staged acts of civil unrest funded by liberal interests to hurt conservatives and President Donald Trump.

• petitions.trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov statement

  Declare George Soros a terrorist and seize all of his related organizations' assets under RICO and NDAA law

Sources: PolitiFact reliable · PolitiFact reliable · petitions.trumpwhitehouse.archives.gov needs a second source · Washington Examiner needs a second source

Correction, 2026-10-23: Removed the rally name, which the cited sources do not use, and removed quotation marks from a phrase that is PolitiFact's paraphrase of Jones rather than his words. Aligned the 2020 PolitiFact description with that article's wording.

Rerun #2

Jan 2017 Women's March "paid by Soros" claims

After the Women's March, held the day after President Trump's inauguration, Bill O'Reilly said on Fox News that the march "was not a spontaneous event" and was organized by groups that "receive millions of dollars" from George Soros. Trump adviser Roger Stone told the New York Post the march was "a large AstroTurf operation paid for by Soros." A PPP survey of 1,043 registered voters found that 38% of Trump voters believed most of the marchers were paid by Soros (1% of Clinton voters and 17% overall). The Washington Times called this "an unfounded allegation." A spokesperson for Soros's Open Society Foundations told PolitiFact, "There is no truth to these reports."

• Media Matters for America article

  They were very well organized and targeted, and the target this time is Trump, to get them out of there before the four years are over.

• The Washington Times article

  38 percent of Trump voters believe the people who participated in the post-inaugural protest were paid to attend by Mr. Soros

Sources: The Washington Times needs a second source · Media Matters for America needs a second source · haaretz.com needs a second source

Rerun #1

Nov 2016 Protests after the 2016 election

In the days after the November 2016 election, posts online claimed that Soros was paying for the anti-Trump street protests. CNBC reported that conservative criticism of Soros "reached a fever pitch online" after the election. Infowars ran a Nov. 14 headline saying the protests used paid professional protesters "financed by George Soros." The two non-profits whose job ads Infowars cited said the claim was false. Open Society Foundations President Chris Stone said there was "no truth" to reports that Soros or OSF funded the protests. Photos and video of buses said to be carrying paid protesters in Austin (Nov. 9–10) and Chicago (Nov. 13) were debunked by Snopes. The Austin buses were for a Tableau Software conference.

• Snopes article

  I presumed the busses had something to do with the protests.

  40 followers before post (Tucker, approx., per Snopes) as of 2026-10-23
• cnbc.com article

  Jones' website, Infowars, trumpeted the "investigative report" on Nov. 14, under the headline "Proof — The Trump Protests Utilizing Paid Professional Protesters financed by George Soros."

• Snopes article

  Zero Hedge published a video on 13 November 2016 showing a large number of buses parked on a street

Sources: cnbc.com reliable · Snopes reliable · The Washington Post reliable