Petition calls on the White House to label these leftist group terrorists
‘Antifa’ is widely regarded as part of the far left, a group that Trump said is partly responsible for violence in Charlottesville, Virginia. Video provided by Newsy
Newslook
The claim: Obama and George Soros created antifa
Do antifascist movements have antifa ties to the federal government? A Facebook post referring to an alleged investigation by the Department of Justice makes this claim.
The post on February 4 is a screenshot of an apparent article or blog entry titled “ANTIFA Leads Direct To Barack Obama.”
Former Attorney General William Barr has reportedly launched an investigation into antifa at the request of former President Donald Trump. Antifa – an abbreviation for ‘anti-fascist’ – is a political protest group without central leadership. According to the Anti-Defamation League, members take part in counter-demonstrations during right-wing events and protests.
“ANTIFA is the creation of Barack Obama and George Soros,” the claim reads. “And it’s even partially funded with taxpayers’ money, something that will come to an end quickly.”
USA TODAY released the poster for comment.
Related fact checks:
Barr launches extremist task force against government
The Task Force on Violent Anti-Government Extremists has been formed to investigate perpetrators of violent acts amid peaceful protests following the death of George Floyd, the US reported TODAY in June.
A memo about the task force released on June 26, the far-right movement called “boogaloo” and antifa. At the time, members of antifa were not identified among the suspects, reports USA TODAY. The task force was referred in a press release on September 4 to the arrest of two “Boogaloo Bois” for supporting a foreign terrorist organization.
USA TODAY has updated the Department of Justice for an update of the task force.
Despite Barr’s initiative, there is no evidence to suggest that the Department of Justice has an illegal connection between former president. Barack Obama and the philanthropist George Soros did not discover.
Claim originates in satire
The screenshot in the Facebook post is from the headline and first paragraph of an Obamawatcher.com article. The blog is a parody site that offers satirical content, according to a page about us.
Obamawatcher’s “Kraven Moorehead” wrote that Barr’s chief investigator, Joseph Barron, found that Soros had recruited Obama to help create antifa in exchange for funding the former president’s senatorial and presidential campaigns. According to the BBC, Soros, a Hungarian businessman and investor, is a prolific donor to the Democratic Party.
The author admitted that the story was a satirical fabrication at the end of the article.
‘Millions of dollars have flowed into the coffers of ANTIFA, the’ grassroots movement ‘of liberals and leftists. “The president and his supporters finally had a made-up scenario,” he wrote. “While Trump was hiding in the bunker, Barron concluded that the whole thing had nothing to do. It was just … Obama’s fault. That’s what he would tell him.”
The satirical origins of the Facebook claim were not posted on the screenshot or in the caption.
Our rating: false
We rate this claim FALSE, based on our research. A Facebook post suggesting that anti-fascist group antifa was created by former President Barack Obama and Democratic donor George Soros has been derived from a work of satire. The article referred to in the claim was clearly marked as satire on the website of origin, but not in the Facebook post.
Our sources for fact checking:
- Anti-Defamation League, visited on March 23: “Who is Antifa?”
- USA TODAY June 26, 2020: “Attorney General Barr creates task force to investigate anti-government extremists”
- Kerri Kupec June 26, 2020, tweet
- BBC News, 31 May 2018: “Profile: Millionaire Philanthropist George Soros”
- Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Minnesota District, September 4, 2020: “Two self-described ‘Boogaloo Bois’ charged with attempting to provide substantial support to Hamas”
- Obamawatcher, visits March 22: “Barr’s investigation into ANTIFA leads directly to Barack Obama”
- Obamawatcher, visits March 22: “About us”
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe here to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper replica.
Our fact-checking work is supported in part by a grant from Facebook.