George Soros Donates $1 Million to Media Matters to Combat Conservative News Outlets

Long-rumored as a supporter, billionaire George Soros stepped up this week to donate $1 million to Media Matters to support its mission to keep watch over conservative-leaning media.

In a statement obtained by Michael D. Shear of The New York Times' The Caucus, the organization says it plans to use the money to intensify its efforts to hold the Fox host Glenn Beck and others on the cable news channel accountable for their reporting.

"Fox has transformed itself into a 24-7 G.O.P. attack machine, dividing Americans through fear-mongering and falsehoods and undermining the legitimacy of our government for partisan political ends," the group will say in the statement, to be released Wednesday afternoon.

In an accompanying statement, Mr. Soros, a billionaire who has a history of supporting liberal politicians and causes, accused Fox News hosts of "incendiary rhetoric" and said he hoped that his money would be used "in an effort to more widely publicize the challenge Fox News poses to civil and informed discourse in our democracy."

For years, conservatives have accused Media Matters of being a front organization for Mr. Soros. In May, Mr. Beck referred to Media Matters as "the left-wing George Soros-funded media machine that is now referring to me as a jihadist." In 2007, Fox's Sean Hannity called it "Hillary Clinton's George Soros-funded group Media Matters."

Officials at Media Matters regularly deny that they have ever taken money from Mr. Soros, who repeats that denial in Wednesday's statement, saying,  "I have not to date been a funder" of the liberal organization. Now, he will officially be a donor, and likely a fresh target for criticism from the right.

Media Matters: Fox Is a Lethal 24/7 Partisan Political Operation

In a memo directed at progressive advocacy groups, the founder and chief executive officer of Media Matters, David Brock, called "a lethal 24/7 partisan political operation.

"Fox News has exhibited a consistent willingness to ignore any and all journalistic standards to pursue political ends," Brock writes. "The failure to recognize Fox News for what it is enables the network to continue waging a massive conservative political campaign disguised as journalism."

Here is the full memo:

In recent days, a new level of scrutiny has been directed toward Fox News, in no small part due to statements from the White House, and from Media Matters, challenging its standing as a news organization.

Media Matters has monitored Fox News every day for more than 5 years. Our analysis of their programming has led us to the unavoidable conclusion that Fox is no longer operating as a “conservative news organization,” but as an outright partisan political operation – and brazenly so.

Since the election of Barack Obama, the Fox News Channel has transformed itself into something truly unprecedented: a lethal 24/7 partisan political operation with an instantaneous national reach. Fox has declared war on this White House, the majority in the United States Congress, and progressive organizations and activists. For Fox News, victory is defined as the destruction of both the Obama administration and the entire progressive policy agenda. Fox News host Glenn Beck predicted last week that he will soon "take the administration down."

The danger to progressive causes and the institution of journalism has become too significant to ignore. At Media Matters, we believe it is of paramount importance that progressive leaders have the information necessary to understand exactly what Fox News has become. We hope this brief memorandum will assist you in reaching your own decision on how best to engage this threat.

As our evidence demonstrates, Fox News has exhibited a consistent willingness to ignore any and all journalistic standards to pursue political ends. The failure to recognize Fox News for what it is enables the network to continue waging a massive conservative political campaign disguised as journalism.

We hope you find this information helpful. If you have any questions or would like any additional information, please feel free to contact Media Matters at your convenience. Together, we can hold Fox News accountable to the high standards of journalism every American has a right to expect from their media.

Sincerely,

David Brock
Founder & CEO, Media Matters for America