Topic: Media Research Center
The Media Research Center got rather touchy when it was pointed out that Elon Musk's attacks on George Soros leaned into anti-Semitism. Tom Olohan helped Musk pivot away from that in a May 18 post:
After Twitter owner Elon Musk’s tweets about leftist mega donor George Soros drew heavy criticism from across the leftist media, Musk was not only undeterred but tripled down on his earlier comments.
Musk responded directly to a “Squawk Box” clip criticizing his tweets May 18. While Musk conceded that comparing Soros to a comic book character was an imperfect choice, he quickly pivoted to directly state some of Soros’ misdeeds. Musk tweeted, “Anyway, my actual concern with Soros is that he has funded so many politicians & DAs who are soft even on violent crime, which has caused great damage to many cities imo. Also, while I am very much in favor of expanding legal immigration, we must have some vetting of who comes in, so that we do not allow dangerous felons to prey upon innocent Americans.”[...]
Elon Musk’s latest tweet on Soros, follows several earlier ones on Soros’ political motives and funding of radical leftist DA’s, as well as a quote comparing Soros’ to the fictional supervillain Magneto.
CNN, Forbes, and MSNBC all smeared Musk for his tweet comparing Soros to Magneto. Musk was also questioned about his tweets in a CNBC interview before he responded to a “Squawk Box” clip about them. Despite this, the free speech advocate did not back down, standing by his criticism of Soros’ criminal justice views and spending. He even doubled down in a response to his initial tweet, writing, “I’d like apologize for this post[.]” He tweeted again, “It was really unfair to Magneto.”
Yes, Olohan really wants you to think the top business news network and the top business magazine are "leftist."
Joseph Vazquez used a May 22 post to hype a poll by a notoriously right-wing pollster claiming Americans agree with Musk's attack on Soros:
A majority of Americans are rejecting the media’s attempts to shield leftist billionaire activist George Soros from criticism and cast his opponents as anti-Semites.
A new survey by Rasmussen Reports and Ron Coleman’s ColemanNation podcast of 1,002 U.S. likely voters revealed that “Most American voters have a negative opinion of liberal billionaire George Soros, and nearly half agree with [Twitter owner] Elon Musk’s words comparing Soros to a comic-book villain.” Specifically, 51 percent of respondents reported viewing Soros “unfavorably,” which included 39 percent who had a “very unfavorable” impression of the billionaire. This poll’s release comes days after Musk set Twitter on fire for comparing Soros to Marvel supervillain Magneto, saying Soros "hates humanity" and for criticizing Soros for seeking to “erode the very fabric of civilization.”
Despite all the media bluster to make Soros into some kind of a victim, Americans clearly aren’t buying it. “Forty-seven percent (47%) of voters agree with [Musk’s] quote, including 35% who Strongly Agree that Soros ‘hates humanity,’” according to the survey taken between May 16-18, 2023.
Outlets like Forbes and CNN tried to cast Musk as being “anti-Semitic” for his tweets, though Soros’ ethnicity had nothing to do with what Musk was saying.
As we've noted before, Vazquez cannot possibly know Musk's intent in attacking Soros, unless the MRC has endowed him with long-distance mind-reading abilities.
A May 23 post by Olohan declared "VINDICATION" because Alan Dershowitz declared Soros to be a Jew right-wingers are allowed to hate, a key anti-Soros narrative at the MRC:
Harvard Law School Professor Emeritus Alan Dershowitz has weighed in to defend Elon Musk’s criticisms of George Soros and offered a few scathing remarks of his own.
Dershowitz published a May 21 op-ed in The Wall Street Journal pushing back against leftist media hacks who have called Musk’s tweets on Soros “antisemitic.” Dershowitz wrote, “But Mr. Musk stands falsely accused. Mr. Soros is an active participant in politics, and his Jewishness shouldn’t shield him from criticism.” Following these remarks, Dershowitz went into detail on how George Soros has acted to harm not only America, but also the Jewish state of Israel. “[N]o single person has done more to damage Israel’s standing in the world, especially among so-called progressives, than George Soros,” Dershowitz rebuked.
Dershowitz lists two anti-Israel groups, Human Rights Watch and J-Street, which Soros has donated massive amounts of money to in the past.
But criticism of Israel is not, in and of itself, anti-Semitic, and Dershowitz and Olohan are being dishonest by claiming it is. Olohan cited criticism of Human Rights Watch by its founder over "the Israeli-Arab conflict," but it's not anti-Semitic to criticize Israel's treatment of Palestinians. He also attacked J Street for trying to "counter the work of the pro-Israel group, AIPAC," but he didn't mention that AIPAC is very much a right-wing organizaiton that supports Republican can didates and spends money to defeat Democratic candidates, especially if they criticize Israel and have expressed support for Palestinians. It's also false for Olohan to call J Street "anti-Israel," and J Street has an entire list of myths about its purported lack of support for Israel it will happily disabuse people of.
Olohan went on to tout how "Dershowitz also quoted an article from the Jewish News Service to emphasize that he wasn’t the only “Jewish American” to be wary of Soros’ radicalism," adding:
The Harvard Law professor also agreed that Soros has had “a pernicious influence” on America, citing leftist Soros-backed candidates for district attorney across the country. Dershowitz also stated that he agrees with Musk that, “Mr. Soros’s acts contribute to fraying the ‘fabric of civilization.’” Ideally, America would have a media that would be curious about the magnitude of Soros’ influence in global politics. Instead, the nation is left with a bloated, Soros-funded propaganda media mill that is intent on nefariously denigrating those who dare to criticize him.
That's a highly ironic statement, given how the MRC works as a propaganda media mill for Musk.
