On July 12, 2024, Austin Private Wealth LLC, a company associated with George Soros’ Vanguard and BlackRock, placed a significant short position on 12 million shares, and an additional 34 million shares, of DJT stocks linked to Donald Trump’s Truth Social platform. This move occurred just one day before the assassination attempt on Trump. The timing and scale of these shorts have raised suspicions and fueled speculation that the company had prior knowledge of the attack. The situation has sparked widespread speculation and calls for investigation.
According to a report by the Times of India, Austin Private Wealth (APW), a Texas-based investment firm, is under investigation for a filing made just before the failed assassination attempt on U.S. presidential candidate Donald Trump. The company vehemently denied allegations that it shorted twelve million shares of Trump Media & Technology Group (TMTG) and attributed the incident to a clerical error.
Short selling is a financial strategy where a security is borrowed, sold on the open market, and then bought back later at a lower price to return to the lender, thus profiting from the difference. This practice often indicates a belief that the stock’s value will decline.
Trump was giving a speech at a rally in Butler, Pennsylvania, when a shooter fired multiple shots at him, grazing his ear, killing one attendee, and injuring two others. The day before the incident, APW filed a sell option for 12 million TMTG shares with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which appeared to be a bet on the company’s value plummeting if Trump were killed.
Screenshots of the sell options from a Bloomberg terminal circulated on social media but disappeared later in the day. Some speculated that APW had significant stakes in Vanguard and BlackRock funds, tying them to George Soros and the Rothschild family, further fueling suspicion.
The connection to BlackRock became even more controversial when it was revealed that the alleged shooter appeared in an advertisement for the investment giant. BlackRock subsequently pulled the ad and condemned the assassination attempt as “repugnant” and “horrific.”
Shifting Investment Portfolios with Social Media Profiles
According to stock market reports, one of the most significant changes in Soros’s holdings in recent years was a substantial increase in investments in BlackRock, the world’s largest asset management company. Soros increased his position by about 60%, holding a total of 12,983 shares by the end of the second quarter. BlackRock manages about $6 trillion in assets.
George Soros has made significant changes to his stock holdings related to the Soros Fund Management, as revealed in 13F filings submitted to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Soros favored shares of Facebook (FB), Apple (AAPL), and Twitter (TWTR) while reducing his positions in Amazon.com (AMZN) and Alphabet (GOOGL).
It is noteworthy, though not particularly surprising, that Soros has acquired shares in the world’s most popular social media companies. Facebook, Apple, and X (Twitter) are prominent stocks regularly featured in top hedge fund portfolios nationwide. Soros purchased over 159,000 Facebook shares valued at nearly $31 million.
It is also significant that Soros invested heavily in the music streaming industry. The Soros Fund Management acquired over 728,000 shares of Spotify Technology SA (SPOT), currently valued at over $122 million. Additionally, the firm bought 7.12 million shares of Pandora Media Inc. (P), worth just over $56 million. Overall, Soros invested more than $178 million in the two popular music streaming services.
Traditional Media and Social Media Control Soros-Style
We recently reported on the extent of Soros’s influence in traditional media. The global reach of the Soros media empire means he can reach millions of people, granting him incredible influence. The various channels he funds reach over 330 million people monthly worldwide through reporters, writers, and bloggers. According to estimates by the U.S. Census Bureau, the total population of the United States is just under 310 million.
It has also long been known that Facebook’s so-called “appeals board” is predominantly composed of people associated with the billionaire speculator. Moreover, there is a working document that serves as clear evidence that big tech companies collaborate to silence their users on social media platforms for political reasons. The 49-page document was presented by David Brock, founder of Media Matters, to about 100 Democratic Party donors in January 2017 at a Florida golf hotel during the weekend of Trump’s inauguration. The mentioned organization has received significant support from Soros, not to mention that Soros has been funding them through his founded Democracy Alliance organization since their inception (a club of liberal financiers), which also helped them get started. The memorandum, titled “Democracy Matters: Strategic Plan for Action,” outlines the plan to defeat Trump and sought financial support for this effort. In hindsight, the document reveals a relentless effort and ongoing work to implement the plan.
Reading the 49-page document reveals the core of their plan: they intend to defeat Trump and the Republican Party by restricting or entirely disabling the distribution of conservative content in the digital space. The entire memorandum is available here, but due to its length, only excerpts are cited.
Primary organizations involved in the implementation of the plan:
- Media Matters: Soros has supported this organization since its inception. Founded by David Brock in 2004, it aggressively critiques conservative journalists and media outlets. They have received support from organizations funded by Soros, such as the Tides Foundation, Democracy Alliance, MoveOn.org, and the Center for American Progress.
- American Bridge: Founded by David Brock, the president of Media Matters and the planner of the project, it received several million dollars from Soros and is his largest financial supporter. This political organization supports Democratic candidates and conducts “opposition research” against Republican candidates.
- Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW): Also linked to David Brock, who served on the board from 2014 to 2016. Many of its officials have connections to the Democratic Party and received significant funds from Soros through the Open Society Foundations, Tides Foundation, and Democracy Alliance. Their main task is to initiate legal proceedings against Republicans, Conservatives, and particularly Trump.
- Shareblue: Originally known by this name, it has since been renamed The American Independent.
These four organizations have the same headquarters according to their tax documents. Given their connections to David Brock (and obviously Soros), it is not surprising that the network is mockingly referred to as the “Brocktopus” in conservative circles.
- According to the document, Media Matters staff met with Facebook executives to discuss how to curb the phenomenon of “fake news.” They provided detailed information on right-wing Facebook pages that they believed spread the most false information. Consequently, Facebook changed its algorithm, significantly reducing the traffic and reach of conservative pages. A study by The Gateway Pundit found that the algorithm change led to a 93% overall drop in reach for the most popular conservative pages.
- Media Matters provided Google with the information needed to identify the “40 worst fake news sites” and exclude them from Google’s advertising network. This affected blogs and conservative websites such as Breitbart, Drudge Report, and Infowars.
- Google and YouTube removed nearly 300 video ads for President Trump in the first few months of 2019, citing violations of their rules. YouTube CEO Susan Wojcicki denied any political bias in an interview.
Edited by Ivan Hajda