Soros to silence major conservative voices before the 2024 election?

Soros on way to takeover major US media company

Conservatives who enjoy listening to the likes of Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and Glenn Beck should be aware that Hungarian billionaire George Soros, a Marxist, is pressuring the FCC to give him the waiver he needs to buy media giant Audacy, which broadcasts the programs of major conservative radio hosts.

The fear is that he will acquire the company and remove conservative voices before the November election. The headline of a Daily Mail article on the topic in February declared: "George Soros poised to control 220 radio stations via $400M Audacy bailout, stoking fears of progressive billionaire leading second-biggest US network during 2024 election." In April, Inside Radio reported that Soros's proposed acquisition is part of a larger buying spree, in its article titled: "Report: Audacy Investment Part Of A ‘Bigger Audio Buying Spree’ For Soros Fund." A Law Enforcement Today's headline this week expressed concern, too: "Soros pressuring FCC to fast track purchase of national radio network, which carries Hannity, Levin, Beck, other top conservative radio programs before election."

‍Law Enforcement Today wrote in its review of a NY Post article on the topic:

One insider with knowledge of the deal told The Post that, “The idea that George Soros is buying hundreds of local radio stations right before a national election and will keep broadcasting Sean Hannity and other conservative talk radio hosts on Audacy is not credible.”

The NY Post tweeted about the planned purchase, calling the prospect of Soros acquiring the company "scary."

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Soros has donated millions to Democrat district attorneys, in past years, and has made additional donations to primarily Democratic advocacy groups and political campaigns, including $60 million this year to his Democracy PAC through which he makes donations to support Democrats.

Bankruptcy bailout

Audacy, the second largest radio broadcasting and podcasting company in the US, which owns hundreds of radio stations that broadcast Hannity, Levin, and Beck, among other conservative voices, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in early January 2024, according to Inside Radio. The company hoped to restructure its $1.9 billion debt in a debt-for-equity deal that would leave it with just $350 million of debt. In February Soros acquired between 40% to more than 50% of the company's senior debt, which would give Soros effective control over the company.

Not a done deal, yet

While the mainstream media is reporting this as a done deal, the truth is that the law prohibits foreigners from acquiring more than a 25% investment in a US radio station, hence the need for a waiver from the FCC. Soros is hoping that the Democrat-majority FCC will give him what he wants. Meanwhile, the Republican head of the FCC has sounded the alarm, as the "insider" continued:

One issue facing Soros’ potential purchase of Audacy is that the money he wishes to use to purchase the bankrupt media company comes from overseas, which is why Soros is lobbying the FCC to fast track his purchase while allowing him to skirt FCC rules. Under those regulations, a foreign company is only permitted to own up to 25% of US radio stations.

However, The Post acquired a filing which shows that Soros is asking the Democrat-controlled FCC to make an exception.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, is sounding the alarm over Soros’ involvement, following up a warning made by Rep. Chip Roy (R-Texas) in April.

“The FCC should not create a special Soros shortcut,” Carr told The Post earlier this week.

“When it comes to a broadcast station acquisition of this size and magnitude–hundreds of radio stations across more than 45 markets–the FCC needs to run its full and normal review process. The FCC should not be skipping steps or waiving required agency processes.”

Waiver to skip review process, too!

Soros isn't just asking for a waiver of the 25% investment limit, but a waiver of the review process as well, as World Tribute also quoted Carr:

But instead of going through the usual petition for declaratory ruling process, which would enable the FCC to review and assess those foreign ownership interests as part of its transaction review, the Soros group has asked the FCC to waive that process and put it off until sometime down the road — indicating that those foreign stakeholders will be given ‘special warrants’ in the meantime.

The Soros group says that skipping the foreign ownership review at this time will enable the FCC to expedite its approval of the Soros applications and thus allow them to more quickly realize their ownership interests in, and take the reins at, these hundreds of local radio stations across the country.‍

Soros doesn't like U.S. democracy or former President Trump

The likelihood that those who fear that the Hungarian, who is already manipulating politicians in the US through his large contributions to Democrat government officials and politicians, is seeking to silence conservative voices in the United States before the election appear to be on target.

A year before he plunked down all those millions to take over Audacy, he gave a speech (in the video below) on a number of issues, completing his talk with a diatribe about democracy in the U.S. and Donald Trump.

To complete the geopolitical picture, I must also examine how democracy is functioning in the United States. Obviously not very well. When Donald Trump became president in 2016, he posed that real threat to our democracy.

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Interestingly, he called Trump a threat to "our democracy" yet Soros is not an American citizen and Hungary is not a democracy. Vox declared Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán "Europe’s other threat to democracy" alongside Putin, reporting on the sham elections that has enabled him to keep his position for another term; he has already served for the past 12 years.

. . . Sunday’s election was anything but free and fair. For the past 12 years, Orbán has systematically worked to turn Hungarian democracy into a sham: one where elections seem fair, but take place on uneven playing ground. Through tactics ranging from extreme gerrymandering to media control to unfair campaign finance rules, he has made it unthinkably difficult for the opposition to defeat his Fidesz party at the ballot box.

Sunday’s results reflect this undemocratic reality, with his party once again winning enough seats to unilaterally amend Hungary’s constitution.

Soros doing the same to America as Orban is doing to Hungary?

Orbán does have a real constituency. Many Hungarians, especially cultural conservatives outside of the capital Budapest, find his political style genuinely appealing. His system is built on amplifying the influence of these supporters, convincing others to join them through relentless propaganda, and starving his critics of the resources they need to compete. (Emphasis added.)‍

Soros org. already blacklists conservative voices

With U.S. government funding?

Earlier this month Glenn Beck's Blaze Media was blacklisted by an organization called Texty.org, Blaze Media reported. The NGO, Beck explains, is funded by George Soros:

Yesterday, Blaze News reported that a shadowy Ukrainian NGO called “Texty.org” had placed Blaze Media and Glenn Beck on its enemies list for supposedly spreading “Russian propaganda and disinformation.” While masquerading as an independent journalism organization, the outlet tweeted "claims that […] Texty.org’s editorial team is trained or funded by the U.S. government are outright lies.” Last night, Return uncovered this to be a demonstratable [sic] lie by the organization and that it is, in fact, funded with U.S. tax dollars by several American agencies and funding and partnerships tied to the George Soros-led Open Society Foundations. (Emphasis added.)

A previous Soros takeover

In 2022 Soros purchased Miami, Fla.-based station Mambi, a “mainstay of Miami’s hardline anti-Communist Cuban exile community for decades,” Law Enforcement Today author Pat Droney reported, after which one of its most popular hosts left the station and, ironically, is currently hosted by Audacy.

[O]ne of its most popular hosts, Lourdes Ubieta . . . left as the newly formed network was taken over by two former Democratic operatives, Stephanie Valencia and Jess Morales Rocketto, who worked on the Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns. Valencia also worked in the Obama White House.

According to Ubieta, they kept the station's name but changed the nature of the programming.

“They kept the name Radio Mambi but they made it all soft shows like sports and entertainment,” Ubieta told The Post.

Tried to prevent Musk's purchase of Twitter

X user Uday Barad tweeted in 2022 that Brendan Carr "shot down" Soros's attempt to prevent Elon Musk's purchase of Twitter.

Whose "public" interest will the FCC uphold?

The FCC regulations state that the agency may give a waiver unless it finds that the acquisition does not serve the public interest.

The Commission may grant a request from a foreign individual, government, or entity to own, directly or indirectly, more than twenty-five percent (and up to one hundred percent) of the stock of a U.S.-organized entity that holds a controlling interest in a common carrier or aeronautical radio licensee, unless the Commission finds that such foreign ownership would not serve the public interest.

Perhaps some rules should never be waived.