Orbán’s political takeover – buttressed by a German industrial lobby that relies on cheap labour in Hungarian plants – has largely been bankrolled by cash plundered from the European Union that he rails so fervently against. A 2019 New York Times investigation found that Orbán uses billions of euros in EU subsidies as a patronage fund that enriches his allies, protects his political interests and punishes his rivals. “The ideology is a ruse. The money is where the action is,” said Lane Scheppele.

Geoghegan, Peter. “Dark money, dirty politics and the backlash against human rights.” Open Democracy, August 20, 2020.

Related Online (Well, What’s Not Related Online These Days?)

Anti-Defamation League (ADL). “The Antisemitism Lurking Behind George Soros Conspiracy Theories.” October 11, 2018; “Disinformation: Conspiracies connecting George Soros to protests and antifa”, n.d.; “Soros Conspiracy Theories and The Protests: A Gateway to Antisemitism.” June 2, 2020.

Fruen, Lauren and Rory Tingle. “‘The perfect enemy’: How two Jewish American political consultants ‘started a deliberate plot to smear George Soros to help Hungarian PM and helped to create the world’s largest anti-Semitic conspiracy theory’.” Daily Mail, January 21, 2019.

Grassegger, Hannes. “The Unbelievable Story of the Plot Against George Soros.” BuzzFeed News, January 20, 2019.

Oppenheim, James S. “FTAC: A Short Note on the Demonizing of George Soros.” BackChannels, August 8, 2020.

Wikipedia. “Arthur Finkelstein”.

Wikipedia. “George Birnbaum”.

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