Fringe right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread antisemitic disinformation about the Pandora

[Behind the Aegis]

Fringe right-wing media and conspiracy theorists spread antisemitic disinformation about the Pandora Papers

In the weeks following coordinated investigative reporting efforts uncovering the hidden fortunes of global elites and the ultra-wealthy, media actors ranging from QAnon influencers to foreign state broadcasters have mobilized antisemitic conspiracy theories to dismiss the massive exposé.

On October 3, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and various global media outlets began publishing a series of financial investigations looking into a system of offshore tax havens utilized by international elites, politicians, and billionaires. The investigation was based on a massive leak of 11.9 million financial records, nicknamed the Pandora Papers, and it revealed a complex web of global companies — operating from South Dakota to the British Virgin Islands — that some of the wealthiest people in the world are seemingly using to dodge taxation and launder money.

Fringe media outlets and QAnon adherents have viewed prior financial investigations of the global elite, like the Panama Papers, as a tool to expose and validate their conspiracy theories about the way the powerful and wealthy operate. A similar pattern occurred with the release of the Pandora Papers, as right-wing forums hyped the new reports and even alleged there was a hidden meaning behind the date of the papers’ release (though many pivoted to try and discredit the coverage once a link to George Soros was suggested).

It did not take long for conspiracy theory communities to reverse their initially positive expectations of the Pandora Papers’ release and instead push antisemitic smears undermining the new reporting.

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