Alex Soros posted an Atlantic article, not a 'direct violent threat' against Trump | Fact check

The claim: Alex Soros posted a ‘direct violent threat’ against Trump

A Jan. 21 article from Gateway Pundit claims the son of billionaire financier George Soros made a public threat against a former president.

“Alex Soros Tweets Out Bullet Hole and 47 – A Direct Violent Threat to Donald Trump!” reads the headline.

The article was shared more than 1,800 times on Facebook in less than a week. Other versions of the claim were shared on Instagram and X, formerly known as Twitter.

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Our rating: False

Soros posted a link to a column in The Atlantic about crime and inflation rates that had an illustration of a bullet hole and a hand holding $47 in cash. The column suggested Americans' views on both issues could help Trump's 2024 prospects, but neither it nor Soros' post contained a threat against Trump.

Soros' spokesperson says post was 'nothing more, nothing less' than sharing positive inflation, crime news

It's based on Soros’ Jan. 21 post on X, formerly known as Twitter, which included a link to an article by the outlet.

The article’s promotional images, which Bross said was an illustration created from two stock photographs, included a bullet hole in glass and a hand holding $47 in cash. The Gateway Pundit article claims the dollar amount is a reference to the 47th president, who will be elected in November.

“Last year, the crime and inflation crises largely evaporated,” Soros wrote, repeating the article's subhead. “So did the leading theories about what had caused them.”

Neither the X post nor the column, part of the outlet’s Ideas section devoted to analysis and commentary, included a threat to Trump.

The claim is "absurd and irresponsible," Atlantic spokesperson Anna Bross told USA TODAY.

Rather, the article said Americans largely believe crime and inflation are rising despite evidence to the contrary. It said those beliefs may help Trump in the 2024 election because of voters’ assumptions that the former president would be better at addressing the problems than President Joe Biden.

Fact check: Article fabricates quotes from Alex Soros

A spokesperson for George Soros' Open Society Foundations, who declined to provide a name for attribution, said the characterization of Alex Soros' post as a threat is false.

"Alex was sharing the positive news that crime and inflation rates are trending downward – developments that should be celebrated by all Americans," the spokesperson said. "Nothing more, nothing less. It's amazing the lengths to which some people will go to try to distract and divide the country in the face of objectively good news."

USA TODAY has debunked an array of false claims from the Gateway Pundit, including claims that a software company’s contract allows officials to override election results, that Biden gave the World Health Organization full authority over U.S. pandemic policies and that George Soros endorsed Ron DeSantis for president.

USA TODAY reached out to Gateway Pundit and users who shared the article for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

PolitiFact also debunked the claim.

Our fact-check sources:

• Anna Bross, Jan. 29, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Open Society Foundations spokesperson, Jan. 29, Email exchange with USA TODAY

• Alex Soros, Jan. 21, X post 

• The Atlantic, Jan. 18, The Great Normalization 

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: False claim Alex Soros threatened Donald Trump on X | Fact check