The Patriot Post® · George Soros Interferes in Our Election

Ever since Rush Limbaugh burst onto the national scene in 1988, leftists have been incensed about conservative success on radio. When that expanded to Fox News and the Internet, they threw a tantrum over the end of their monopoly.

Since Limbaugh’s passing in 2021, the Leftmedia have dreamed of encroaching on conservative radio’s territory and filling the massive gap left by Limbaugh. They even launched the Air America Radio network back in 2004, but it fizzled out quickly. As it turned out, no one wanted to hear the same tired left-wing drivel on radio that already saturated print media and television networks.

But the Left has never given up on the potential of radio to deliver its agenda. Recently, billionaire George Soros sought to make it a reality. As the New York Post reports, “On Wednesday, the FCC adopted an order to approve Soros’ purchase of more than 200 radio stations in 40 markets just weeks before the presidential election.” The Democrat-run FCC also agreed to Soros’s request to bypass the normal vetting process involved when a foreign company seeks to buy U.S. radio stations.

“Soros took foreign investment to make his bid,” adds the Post, “and then made a filing asking the commission to make an exception to the usual review process, according to public documents. The FCC decision to fast-track his deal is the first time in modern history such a deal has been approved by the full Commission without first running the national security review process — a process that could take up to a year or more. The Soros group says they will come back to the FCC at some point in the future to run that process.”

Even more troubling is that the approval ignores Section 310(b)(4) of the Communications Act, which forbids foreign owners from having more than a 25% stake in the ownership of a radio license. Audacy, a company that filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, had nearly 40% of its debt acquired by Soros Fund Management.

The Blaze reports that Audacy “requested that the five-member FCC, which has a Democratic majority, take the unprecedented step of not only waiving the foreign ownership restriction in order to allow the purchase to move forward but of putting off a national security review of the stations’ foreign-interest holders.”

So much for the Democrats’ concern about foreign interference in American elections.

This isn’t just any foreign entity investing in more than 200 established radio stations. This is George Soros, one of the world’s most influential socialist billionaires. Everything he does is meant to promote his leftist worldview. It’s not a coincidence that Audacy is home to conservatives such as Glenn Beck, Sean Hannity, Mark Levin, and others. What will become of them and their programs?

This is just one in a series of power moves by Soros and associates to wrest at least partial control of the one medium that has been a consistent thorn in leftists’ sides. In 2016, Soros supported the Pod Save America podcast hosted by a speechwriter for Barack Obama. And in 2022, the Soros-backed Latino Media Network purchased 18 Hispanic radio stations.

At the time, NBC News reported, “The radio stations they plan to purchase will reach one-third of Latinos in the U.S., about 20 million people. Latino Media Network is led and founded by Stephanie Valencia, a former Obama administration staffer who now heads Equis Research, a Latino polling and research firm, and Jess Morales Rocketto, also at Equis and a veteran of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton campaigns.”

Clearly, Soros and company weren’t interested in Hispanic culture or entertainment. They wanted to stop the rising tide of Hispanic support for Republicans — and especially Donald Trump.

In response to the FCC rolling over for Soros, the House Committee on Oversight and Accountability is now investigating this fast-track deal. “Despite the unprecedented nature of this action, the FCC majority has apparently decided to approve licenses on an accelerated timeframe for a company in which George Soros has a major ownership stake, and with stations in 40 media markets reaching ‘more than 165 million Americans,’” states a letter from Committee Chairman James Comer and Representative Nick Langworthy to FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel. “By all appearances, the FCC majority isn’t just expediting, but is bypassing an established process to do a favor for George Soros and facilitate his influence over hundreds of radio stations before the November election.”

Unfortunately, it looks like a done deal, and the only good news is that it’s probably too late to have a serious impact on the 2024 presidential vote. What’s concerning is the long-term impact of foreign cash being used to control the information Americans receive on the radio.

It’s just more evidence that the battle for Liberty and truth is ongoing, making our votes in November as critical as ever.