Asked by the Times whether he was aware that Soros' calls were widely considered anti-Semitic in certain contexts, Van Dine posted the question and answer on X. . It also provided funding to “groups promoting anti-Semitism on campus.” “Soros also funded the violent BLM movement, organizations fighting to defund the police, and helped elect a pro-crime district attorney,” she wrote.
And in late February, when conservative campaigners and changemakers gathered at the Conservative Political Action Conference, an annual homecoming of influential right-wing activists and politicians, they were welcomed like this. “Welcome to CPAC 2024. Globalism is the place to die.”
methodology
The Times used a variety of methods to examine the extent to which federal politicians used language promoting anti-Semitic tropes.
Reporters examined official press releases, Congressional newsletters, and posts on X (formerly Twitter) from every person who has served in Congress over the past 10 years, and found that they included the words “Soros,” “globalists,” and “globalism.” (a term widely accepted by several historians) was included. Anti-Semitism experts call Jews “dog whistles.” Reporters read each message to determine whether the term was used in a way that reflected conspiracy theories about Jews. The Times used a similar process to analyze nearly five years' worth of campaign emails from former President Donald J. Trump.
The Times also cited words and phrases in Congressional press releases, newsletters and posts about X that experts say can have anti-Semitic connotations when used in conjunction with discussions about Israel. investigated. These included “From the River to the Sea,'' as well as variations such as “Colonial,'' “Nazi,'' and “Lobby.''
The Times' analysis counted retweets or quote acknowledgments of other messages, and aggregated each repeated message using the same or very similar language separately.
Using computer analysis techniques that allow the examination of large amounts of text, the Times also analyzed extremist websites and podcasts to see how they discussed Soros and the globalists. The Anti-Defamation League provided transcripts of extremist and conspiracy-oriented podcasts that frequently referenced Mr. Soros and globalists.
Additional sources for Congressional newsletters, Congressional press releases, and emails from the Trump campaign: DCinbox, LegiStorm, Congressional websites, and political email archives.
Michael H. Keller Contributed to the report.Additional work by Lazaro Gamio.