83ยบ
    • News
    • Watch Live
    • Local News
    • KSAT Investigates
    • Crime
    • Courts
    • Vote 2023
    • Behind the Kitchen Door
    • Texas
    • Texas Legislature
    • One Year In: Uvalde
    • Border
    • Education
    • 12 On Your Side
    • Fighting Fentanyl
    • Health
    • National
    • World
    • Get News App
    • Weather
    • Traffic
    • Pollen
    • Alerts
    • Traffic Cams
    • Doppler Radar
    • Whatever the Weather
    • Thermometer Thursday
    • Science with Sarah
    • Climate
    • Weather History
    • Weather 101
    • Hurricanes
    • KSAT Connect
    • Daily Forecast
    • Get Weather App
    • Sports
    • Big Game Coverage
    • BGC Streams
    • Instant Replay
    • KSAT Pigskin Classic
    • Spurs
    • NFL
    • Brahmas
    • College
    • UTSA
    • Scholar Athletes
    • Spurs Newsletter
    • Spurs Stats
    • BGC Newsletter
    • Get BGC App
    • KSAT Plus
    • Watch Live
    • Newscasts
    • Texas Crime Stories
    • KSAT News Now
    • 9 at Night
    • KSAT Explains
    • Texas Eats
    • Mental Wellness
    • 9 @ 9
    • Leading SA
    • Storytellers
    • 21 Taken
    • Necessary Evil
    • QVC
    • TV Listings
    • Get Streaming App
    • SA Live
    • As Seen On SA Live
    • Prize Wheel
    • Happy Space
    • Things to Do
    • Big Adventure
    • Meet The Cast
    • Texas Eats
    • Entertainment
    • Things To Do
    • Outdoors
    • Trending
    • KSAT Kids
    • Fiesta
    • Rodeo
    • Travel
    • Food
    • Selena
    • Weird News
    • Birthdays
    • Events Calendar
    • KSAT Connect
    • Features
    • KSAT Explains
    • Podcasts
    • KSAT Deals
    • SAQ
    • Solutionaries
    • Data
    • Money
    • Something Good
    • Breakdown
    • Trust Index
    • Educator of the Month
    • Father's Day
    • KSAT Experts
    • Great Grads
    • MeTV
    • San Antonio Business Journal
    • Live from the Southside
    • KSAT Community
    • Newsletters
    • Daily Forecast Email
    • Breaking News Alerts
    • Things To Do Newsletter
    • Texas Crime Stories Newsletter
    • Outdoors Newsletter
    • Spurs Newsletter
    • Texas Eats Newsletter
    • KSAT Investigates
    • Open Court Newsletter
    • KSAT Explains Newsletter
    • KSAT Kids Newsletter
    • Big Game Coverage Newsletter
    • Crime Report Newsletter
    • KSAT Insider
    • Join for free
    • Prize Wheel
    • BGC Streams
    • KSAT Connect
    • Contests & Rules
    • Events
    • Meet the Team
    • Contact Us
  • News
  • Weather
  • Sports
  • KSAT Plus
  • SA Live
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Newsletters
  • KSAT Insider
KSAT.com
  • News
  • Weather
  • Sports
  • KSAT Plus
  • SA Live
  • Entertainment
  • Features
  • Newsletters
  • KSAT Insider
  • LIVE

KSAT12 News at Noon

Latest local news from South Texas from KSAT12

2 air quality alerts in effect for 10 regions in the area

See the complete list

LIVE

KSAT12 News at Noon

2 air quality alerts in effect for 10 regions in the area

GEORGE SOROS


Republicans invoke Soros to steer narrative on Trump probe

Republicans blasting a hush-money probe against former President Donald Trump as politically motivated are blaming a frequent target: George Soros.

State voter fraud system fractures as Republicans opt out

Election officials from states enrolled in a bipartisan effort to ensure accurate voter lists decided Friday against making rule changes that had been pushed by Republicans and fueled by conspiracy theories, prompting more defections by GOP-leaning states.

3 GOP states pull out of effort to thwart voter fraud

Election officials in Florida, Missouri and West Virginia say they are withdrawing from a bipartisan, multistate effort aimed at ensuring the accuracy of voter rolls that has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trumpโ€™s false claims about the 2020 presidential election.

Election conspiracies fuel dispute over voter fraud system

A bipartisan effort among states to combat voter fraud has found itself in the crosshairs of conspiracy theories fueled by Donald Trumpโ€™s false claim about the 2020 presidential election and now faces an uncertain future.

Election takeaways, take 2: Congress control on knife's edge

Wednesday was a day for sorting, sifting and framing of an expensive, exhaustive and highly negative midterm election campaign.

GOP seeking power over elections in Wisconsin, Minnesota

Republicans who are running to be secretary of state in Wisconsin and Minnesota in primaries Tuesday are repeating Donald Trumpโ€™s false claims about the last presidential election and they've suggested they want more authority over how elections are run, especially in Democratic-leaning counties.

Election conspiracies grip Nevada community, sowing distrust

The resignation of a county elections clerk in a rural county in Nevada has opened a window into the long-term consequences of election conspiracy theories.

European court says Turkey not complying with Kavala ruling

Europeโ€™s highest court says Turkey has failed to comply with its ruling that a prominent Turkish philanthropist be immediately released from jail.

National groups flooding local prosecutor races with money

Big political donations this year in races for local district attorney's offices show how national groups are seeking to influence those contests in at least a handful of states.

Miami Cubans oppose Democrat-backed Spanish radio deal

Democratic Party fundraisers are backing a $60 million purchase of Spanish-language radio stations in ten U.S. cities.

Davos updates | Soros: New tech, AI help repressive regimes

Billionaire investor turned philanthropist George Soros has blamed new technology for helping repressive regimes like Russia and China exert greater control.

Perdue invokes Trump election lies in Georgia GOP primary

Former U.S. Sen. David Perdue is building his campaign around Donald Trump and veering to the right as he tries to unseat Republican Gov. Brian Kemp in a May 24 GOP primary.

Turkish court gives philanthropist Kavala life in prison

A Turkish court has sentenced prominent Turkish civil rights activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala to life in prison without parole.

Facebook resorts to old smear tactics against TikTok

Meta, Facebookโ€™s parent company, hired a Republican consulting firm called Targeted Victory to โ€œorchestrate a nationwide campaignโ€ against TikTok, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday.

Justice Thomas' wife long steeped in conservative politics

Through a decades-long career in conservative politics, Virginia Thomas has repeatedly maintained that her political activity represented no conflict of interest with the work of her husband, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas.

A new fund directs its support to Ukraine's long-term needs

The humanitarian needs of more than 10 million displaced Ukrainians have quickly become staggering.

Kemp, Perdue spar over planned Georgia electric car plant

A planned $5 billion electric vehicle plant that has been billed as the largest economic development project in Georgiaโ€™s history is drawing opposition from an unusual source: former Republican U.S. senator David Perdue.

Arizona Republican who backs white nationalism is censured

The Arizona Senate has censured Republican Wendy Rogers, whose embrace of white nationalism and calls for violence drew bipartisan condemnation.

Turkish court rules to keep philanthropist Kavala in prison

A Turkish court has ordered that prominent Turkish civil rights activist and philanthropist Osman Kavala should stay in prison, despite his more than four years in pre-trial detention.

Correction: Philanthropy-Top10-Gifts story

In a story published December 31, 2021, about the top charitable donations of the year, The Chronicle of Philanthropy erroneously reported the value of Microsoft stock donated by Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates in 2000.

'Foreign' agents pitch has El Salvador civil society on edge

El Salvador President Nayib Bukele has pitched a proposed law requiring people and organizations who receive foreign funding to register as โ€œforeign agents,โ€ following the lead of countries like the United States.

'Stupid' and 'insane': Some billionaires vent over tax plan

Elon Musk isnโ€™t happy.

For one night, TV comics focus their shows on climate change

Have you heard the one about climate change.

Philanthropies pledge billions during UN meeting

Bill and Melinda Gatesโ€™ private foundation announced Thursday it will spend more than $900 million over the next five years to curb global malnutrition.

The Latest: Hawaii vaccine foe changes mind after COVID bout

A man who helped organize a Hawaii group that opposes coronavirus vaccines and pandemic restrictions says he now has regrets after contracting COVID-19.

League of their own: Softball players are part-owners

Victoria Hayward will be back on the field this weekend as a softball player โ€” and as an owner.

New push to disband Minneapolis police after Floyd's death

Activists in Minneapolis are making a second attempt to get rid of the city's police department, more than a year after George Floyd's death at the hands of officers.

Leak of billionaires' tax data draws GOP outcry over privacy

Republicans in Congress are alarmed by the leak of confidential IRS data to ProPublica that has enabled the investigative news organization to reveal that famous billionaires including Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and Mark Zuckerberg paid little in U.S. income tax at times.

ProPublica: Many of the uber-rich pay next to no income tax

The richest 25 Americans pay less in tax โ€” 15.8% of adjusted gross income โ€” than many ordinary workers do, once you include taxes for Social Security and Medicare, the nonprofit investigative journalism organization ProPublica found.

Activists hope Chauvin convictions are start to real change

Activists, members of George Floydโ€™s family and some public officials say the guilty verdicts against Derek Chauvin are just a start, and they will continue to push for systemic change in policing in Minneapolis and beyond.

Report: Pandemic amped up anti-Semitism, forced it online

A new report says the coronavirus has amped up anti-Semitic conspiracy theories.

EU court urged to rule against Hungary's asylum policy

(AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)BUDAPEST โ€“ The advocate general for European Union's highest court on Thursday urged the court to rule that Hungary violated the bloc's laws on asylum when it passed legislation narrowing the possibilities for asylum-seekers to receive international protection. The non-binding opinion from the European Court of Justice's Advocate General, Athanasios Rantos, states that the 2018 amendments to Hungary's asylum laws โ€” which prohibited asylum-seekers who passed through safe countries en route to Hungary from receiving international protection โ€” violated EU law. Opinions by advocates general are often but not always followed by the European Court of Justice, which will make a final ruling on the case at a later date. AdRantos also advised the court to rule that a Hungarian law that cracks down on organizations and individuals that provide legal assistance to asylum-seekers violates EU law. The country's prime minister, Viktor Orban, claims he is seeking to protect Hungary's conservative Christian identity and to defend Europe from immigration from the Mideast and Africa.

EU moves to fine Hungary for flouting ruling on NGO law

The EUโ€™s executive arm, the European Commission, is sending a โ€œletter of formal noticeโ€ to the nationalist government in Budapest giving it two months to explain why itโ€™s not complying. But Amnesty International, among those targeted, has described it as a โ€œvicious and calculated assault on civil societyโ€ meant to silence critical voices in Hungary. Civil society organizations are key part of our democracies. We must support them, not fight them.โ€Eve Geddie, the Director of Amnestyโ€™s European office, said Hungary's โ€œshameful harassment of civil society has gone on for too long. The Hungarian government must repeal the law immediately and end their smear campaigns against NGOs.โ€Ad___Spike reported from Budapest.

A farewell to @realDonaldTrump, gone after 57,000 tweets

This Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 image shows the suspended Twitter account of President Donald Trump. It began with a May 4, 2009, tweet promoting Donald Trump's upcoming appearance on David Letterman's show. โ€œI said, โ€˜Letโ€™s call you @realDonaldTrump โ€” youโ€™re the real Donald Trump,โ€™โ€ recalled Costanzo. In its most popular tweet, on Oct. 2, 2020, @realDonaldTrump announced that Trump and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the coronavirus. Trump deleted 1,166 tweets and, in his final months on the platform, had 471 tweets flagged by Twitter for misinformation, according to Factba.se.

A farewell to @realDonaldTrump, gone after 57,000 tweets

This Friday, Jan. 8, 2021 image shows the suspended Twitter account of President Donald Trump. It began with a May 4, 2009, tweet promoting Donald Trump's upcoming appearance on David Letterman's show. โ€œI said, โ€˜Letโ€™s call you @realDonaldTrump โ€” youโ€™re the real Donald Trump,โ€™โ€ recalled Costanzo. In its most popular tweet, on Oct. 2, 2020, @realDonaldTrump announced that Trump and first lady Melania Trump had contracted the coronavirus. Trump deleted 1,166 tweets and, in his final months on the platform, had 471 tweets flagged by Twitter for misinformation, according to Factba.se.

Fox, Newsmax shoot down their own aired claims on election

Many Republican voters in Georgia are angry; certain that widespread voter fraud claims of which are baseless cost President Donald Trump the election. The companies deny several statements made about them, and there is no evidence any voting system switched or deleted votes in the 2020 election. That came days after Smartmatic sent a letter threatening legal action to Fox and two other networks popular with Trump supporters, Newsmax and One America News Network. A statement aired by Newsmax anchors on Monday, and also printed on the company website, was much broader and concerned both Smartmatic and Dominion. โ€œNo evidence has been offered that Dominion or Smartmatic used software or reprogrammed software that manipulated votes in the 2020 election,โ€ Newsmax said.

US Embassy in Hungary slams article likening Soros to Hitler

BUDAPEST โ€“ The U.S. Embassy in Budapest on Monday condemned an article published by a Hungarian official that drew parallels between American-Hungarian billionaire George Soros and Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. The statements prompted strong reactions from several Hungarian Jewish groups and Hungarian opposition politicians while the Israeli Embassy condemned the article. More than 12,000 people including numerous Hungarian public figures like Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony have so far signed a petition demanding Demeterโ€™s resignation. Demeter retracted the article on Sunday following the backlash and said he would delete his Facebook account. He wrote that (his article) could harm the memory of the victims, so he admitted his mistake,โ€ Varga said, and accused the opposition members of parliament of โ€œapplying a double standard.โ€

Hungarian official retracts comparing George Soros to Hitler

BUDAPEST โ€“ After facing strong condemnation, a Hungarian commissioner on Sunday begrudgingly retracted an article comparing American-Hungarian billionaire and philanthropist George Soros, a staunch critic of Hungaryโ€™s government, to Adolf Hitler and the Nazis. โ€œEurope is George Sorosโ€™ gas chamber,โ€ Szilard Demeter, ministerial commissioner and head of the Petofi Literary Museum in Budapest, wrote in an opinion Saturday in the pro-government Origo media outlet. In a statement Sunday on Origo, Demeter said he would retract his article โ€œindependently of what I think" and will delete his Facebook page. Government media campaigns targeting Soros have led to charges of anti-Semitism. The article also noted the conflict over the European Unionโ€™s next budget, which Hungary and Poland are holding up over provisions that could block payments to countries that do not uphold democratic standards.

Georgia Republican who supports QAnon wins US House seat

Republican candidate for Georgia's 14th congressional seat Marjorie Taylor Greene speaks from the bed of a pickup truck during a campaign rally Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, in Roswell, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)ATLANTA โ€“ Republican Marjorie Taylor Greene, who expressed racist views and support for QAnon conspiracy theories in a series of online videos, has won a U.S. House seat representing northwest Georgia. Greene thanked her staff and asked supporters to pray for Trump to win reelection at a watch party Tuesday night, video of which was livestreamed on Facebook. โ€œMarjorie is strong on everything and never gives up - a real WINNER!โ€Greene initially started campaigning for a different House seat, challenging Democratic Rep. Lucy McBath in Georgiaโ€™s 6th Congressional District, made up of suburbs north of Atlanta. She switched to the more conservative 14th District after Republican Rep. Tom Graves announced that he wasnโ€™t seeking reelection. The seat has been open since Graves stepped down in October.

Justice Thomas' wife boosts unsupported claims against Biden

Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, arrives to watch Amy Coney Barrett take the Constitutional Oath on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. Ginni Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden. She is a longtime conservative activist who asked her more than 10,000 followers Oct. 26, 2020, to consider sharing a link focused on alleged corruption by Biden and his son, Hunter, as well as claims that social media companies are censoring reports about the Bidens. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)

Justice Thomas' wife boosts unsupported claims against Biden

Virginia "Ginni" Thomas, wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, arrives to watch Amy Coney Barrett take the Constitutional Oath on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, Monday, Oct. 26, 2020. Ginni Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)WASHINGTON โ€“ The wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas is using her Facebook page to amplify unsubstantiated claims of corruption by Joe Biden. On Oct. 12, she linked to a video by conservative commentator Dan Bongino asserting that Biden is suffering from dementia. A few hours earlier, Thomas complained about apparent collusion between the media and the Biden campaign to shield the candidate from tough questions.

Race for Los Angeles district attorney increasingly bitter

FILE - In this June 2, 2020, file photo, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti arrives to appeal to Black Lives Matter protesters in downtown Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel,File)LOS ANGELES โ€“ After a scrappy debate that Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey believed lifted her campaign and was a โ€œdisasterโ€ for her opponent, she got a text message from the LA mayor with unwelcome news: He was switching his endorsement to her challenger. A little more than half is for Gascon, the vast majority from a handful of well-heeled backers supporting justice reforms. Gascon has gained support from protests over the death of George Floyd at the knee of a white Minneapolis police officer. Lacey said Gascon is pandering to supporters and that when he was San Francisco DA he never prosecuted a police killing case.

EU court rules against Hungary's Orban over Soros university

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. European Union leaders will be assessing relations with China during their final day of a summit meeting which already saw bruising talks on foreign affairs issues. (AP Photo/Olivier Matthys, Pool)

EU court rules against Hungary's Orban over Soros university

Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban arrives for an EU summit at the European Council building in Brussels, Friday, Oct. 2, 2020. At the heart of the conflict is the fate of the Central European University established by Soros, a Hungarian-American financier. โ€œThe decision comes too late for CEU," Soros said. Foreign universities were also compelled to carry out educational activities in their home countries. In light of Orban's views on Soros, the amendments to the academic rules were widely seen as targeting CEU.

Challenger to QAnon supporter bows out of race in Georgia

Democrat Kevin Van Ausdal bowed out of the race against Marjorie Taylor Greene for โ€œpersonal and family reasons,โ€ his campaign manager Vinny Olsziewski told The Associated Press. Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs said Friday that the window has passed for Democrats to replace Van Ausdal, likely sealing a win for the already-favored Greene. Georgia law says a candidate who withdraws less than 60 days before the election cannot be replaced on the ballot. Van Ausdal faced long odds in Georgiaโ€™s deep-red 14th Congressional District. She has also expressed support for law enforcement and railed against Black Lives Matter protests that have taken place nationwide in recent months in support of racial justice and equality.

Georgia candidate's post removed for inciting violence

ATLANTA Facebook removed a photo illustration showing a Republican congressional candidate in Georgia posing with a rifle next to three Democratic House members, saying Friday that it violated the social media platform's policy against inciting violence. Greene's post featured four separate photos that had been combined to show her posing with a rifle next to Democratic U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Ilhan Omar. After her Aug. 11 runoff victory, she inveighed against spineless Republicans" and promised to kick Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi out of Congress. But she denied in a statement Friday that she was trying to incite violence. Those videos brought her criticism in the primary, with some Georgia Republicans pulling their support, but opposition eased after her runoff win over neurosurgeon John Cowan.

Trump spins baseless tale of thugs flying to protests

Thousands of social media users shared posts suggesting a covert network was coordinating the protests and rioters were descending on communities across the country. Trump is picking up on unproven conspiracy theories that began spreading earlier this year during protests for racial justice. A social media message sent to Wade on Tuesday was not immediately returned. Other social media posts claimed that throngs of antifa, a term for leftist militants, were plotting to violently disrupt cities and towns. In Facebook and Twitter posts earlier this summer, Trump also blamed antifa for violence that broke out during racial justice protests.

Trump dodges question on QAnon conspiracy theory

WASHINGTON President Donald Trump on Friday twice ignored a question about whether he supports QAnon, a convoluted, right-wing, pro-Trump conspiracy theory. A reporter asked the president about the theory at a White House briefing Friday after Trump tweeted his congratulations to a QAnon-supporting candidate. So absolutely, I did congratulate her, Trump said, sidestepping the question and ignoring a follow-up before moving on to another reporter. Trump has retweeted QAnon-promoting accounts, and shirts and hats with QAnon symbols and slogans are not uncommon at his rallies. Green still faces a Democrat in November, but the GOP primary was considered the real contest in a district Trump won handily in 2016.

Trump congratulates QAnon supporter Greene on Georgia win

Supporters take photos with construction executive Marjorie Taylor Greene, background right, late Tuesday, Aug. 11, 2020, in Rome, Ga. Greene, criticized for promoting racist videos and adamantly supporting the far-right QAnon conspiracy theory, won the GOP nomination for northwest Georgia's 14th Congressional District. (AP Photo/Mike Stewart)

QAnon-supporting candidate unrepentant despite GOP criticism

Georgia Rep. Austin Scott, another of Greene's GOP critics before the runoff, said in a statement Wednesday she โ€œdeserves to be congratulated for her victory.โ€The No. 2 House Republican, Rep. Steve Scalise of Louisiana, had backed Greene's opponent in hopes of denying her the partyโ€™s nomination. Lauren Boebert, who has also expressed support for QAnon, recently upset a five-term congressman in a Republican primary in Colorado. But the GOP primary was considered the real contest. If tied too closely to Greene, Georgia Republicans in competitive races could risk alienating moderate voters, said Charles Bullock, a political science professor at the University of Georgia.

Wealthy donors pour millions into fight over mail-in voting

Meanwhile, a well-funded conservative group best known for its focus on judicial appointments is spending heavily to fight cases related to mail-in balloting procedures in court. They reveal vast infrastructure that funnels money from wealthy donors, through philanthropic organizations and political groups, which eventually trickles down to smaller nonprofits, many of which operate under murky circumstances. That includes educating the public about vote by mail, a difficult task when door-to-door canvasing isn't an option. The firm recently registered a handful of trade names for groups that appear to be focused on voting rights, records show. The group is preparing for potential foreign hacking of state voting systems, election day or post-election day violence, as well as contested results.

Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter

FILE - In this June 19, 2020, file photo, protesters wear protective masks as they march after a Juneteenth rally outside the Brooklyn Museum, in the Brooklyn borough of New York. A loose network of Facebook groups that took root across the country in April to organize protests over coronavirus stay-at-home orders has become a hub of misinformation and conspiracies theories that have pivoted to a variety of new targets. Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests against racial injustice. (AP Photo/John Minchillo

Facebook groups pivot to attacks on Black Lives Matter

Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests against racial injustice. Their latest: Black Lives Matter and the nationwide protests of racial injustice. One group transformed itself last month from โ€œReopen Californiaโ€ to โ€œCalifornia Patriots Pro Law & Order,โ€ with recent posts mocking Black Lives Matter or changing the slogan to โ€œWhite Lives Matter." A member of the California Facebook group posted a widely debunked flyer that says โ€œWhite men, women and children, you are the enemy," which was falsely attributed to Black Lives Matter. Their latest cause โ€” pushing for governors to reopen their states โ€” has attracted hundreds of thousands of followers in the private Facebook groups they launched.

George Soros conspiracy theories surge as protests sweep US

George Soros, the billionaire investor and philanthropist who has long been a target of conspiracy theories, is now being falsely accused of orchestrating and funding the protests over police killings of Black people that have roiled the United States. The Hungarian-American, who is Jewish, has also been the subject of anti-Semitic attacks and conspiracy theories for decades. Experts who study conspiracy theories say the new claims about Soros are a way to delegitimize the protests and the actual reasons behind them. Experts say conspiracy theories can become a problem when they lead to threats of violence or cause people to lose trust in important institutions. Conspiracy theories are like themselves viruses, said Josh Introne, a Syracuse University information studies professor who researches conspiracy theories.

Progressive donor group announces $59M vote-by-mail campaign

A nonprofit arm of the donor network Way to Win is working with philanthropic organizations including the Ford Foundation and George Soros' Open Society to raise the money. The efforts by Way to Win will be focused more on outreach and education. Way To Win, which was founded after Trump's 2016 victory, presents itself as a progressive alternative to established Democratic organizations. But the group says black voters have too often been neglected when it comes to private philanthropy. ___Catch up on the 2020 election campaign with AP experts on our weekly politics podcast, Ground Game.

Polish state TV seeks to discredit president's key rival

Centrist opposition presidential candidate, Warsaw Mayor Rafal Trzaskowski, center, greets a supporter as he deliver signatures for his presidential candidacy to Poland's state electoral commission in Warsaw, Poland, on Tuesday June 9, 2020. Trzaskowski had under a week to collect 100,000 signatures to formalize his candidacy, but managed to get 1.6 million. โ€œTVPโ€™s unbalanced reporting on the presidential candidate Rafal Trzaskowski with distorted quotes is unfortunately yet another proof of the pro-government bias of Polish public broadcasting,โ€ said Pavol Szalai of Reporters Without Borders. As mayor of Warsaw, Trzaskowski has supported LGBT rights, a position that the governing party has also seized on to depict him as a threat to the traditional family in this mostly Catholic country. Last week Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said in parliament that Trzaskowskiโ€™s pro-LGBT position amounts to an โ€œattackโ€ on the family.

Hungarian government launches coronavirus questionnaire

BUDAPEST BUDAPEST, HungaryHungarys government on Monday published a new questionnaire with 13 topics centering on the coronavirus pandemic. Prime Minister Viktor Orban has carried out several similar propaganda campaigns since returning to power in 2010. Speaking Monday in parliament, Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto said that all Hungarian citizens would receive the questionnaire in the mail, asking them to return it by Aug. 15. We have a very serious need to create points of agreement based on which we can also win the upcoming phases of protection against the pandemic, Szijjarto said. Hungary has registered 4,014 coronavirus cases and 548 deaths.

Conspiracy theories and racist memes: How a dozen Texas GOP county chairs caused turmoil within the party

Greg Abbott, had condemned four GOP chairs for proliferating conspiracy theories on Facebook. On Friday afternoon, The Texas Tribune identified similar posts from seven more GOP chairs across the state. GOP county chairs are elected leaders of the Republican Party who help oversee local elections and head up county-level meetings and events. News circulating about the first five chairs posts sparked concern both internal and external about the Texas GOP. Lynne Teinert, the GOP chairperson for Shackelford County, shared on Saturday a picture of Soros with the text, The pandemic isnt working.

In false Facebook posts, Texas Agriculture Commissioner Sid Miller accused George Soros of paying protesters to "destroy" the country

The posts from those local officials have prompted calls for resignation from the states top GOP officials. One post from Miller on Sunday included an image of Soros with accompanying text that read, Climate change didnt work. The Anti-Defamation League has reported that hundreds of thousands of social media posts in recent days have falsely suggested that he is behind the recent protests. Fact-checkers have debunked multiple fake flyers circulating on social media purported to be from organizations linked to Soros that were offering people money to protest. Miller has a history of posting incendiary and false statements on his social media channels, including on a Facebook page that has more than 800,000 followers.

False claims of antifa protesters plague small U.S. cities

The speculation was being raised by conservative news outlets and pro-Trump social media accounts, as well as impostor Facebook and Twitter accounts. Twitter and Facebook busted some of the instigators behind the unsubstantiated social media chatter. For years, some social media users have tried to delegitimize controversial or political protests with baseless theories that they were organized by wealthy financiers or extremists organizations. Police departments say people are phoning in โ€œtipsโ€ they see on social media claiming antifa is sending buses or even planes full of antifa activists to their area. Social media users widely shared a manipulated photo of his white buses, edited to show the words โ€œSoros Riot Dance squadโ€ emblazoned on the sides.

Survey: About 1 in 4 Europeans hold anti-Semitic beliefs

A new survey says about one in four Europeans hold anti-Semitic beliefs, with such attitudes on the rise in eastern countries and mostly steady in the west. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)BERLIN โ€“ About one in four Europeans hold anti-Semitic beliefs, with such attitudes on the rise in eastern countries and mostly steady in the west, according to a survey released Thursday. In Western Europe, the study found that anti-Semitic views were either stable or down, with decreases in Britain, Spain, Netherlands, Italy, Germany and Austria. Italy and Austria both posted significant decreases, dropping 11 percentage points and 8 percentage points to 18% and 20% with anti-Semitic attitudes respectively. The survey found that the attitudes of Muslims in Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Spain and Britain tended to be more anti-Semitic than those countries overall.

Officer: I quit Proud Boys over fears of โ€˜far-leftโ€™ attacks

FILE - In this Nov. 14, 2018 file photo, East Hampton, Conn., Police Chief Dennis Woessner addresses the Town Council in East Hampton. In September, Woessner told the civil rights organization that Wilcoxs Proud Boys membership didnt violate department policies. In his letter, addressed to East Hamptonโ€™s police chief, Officer Kevin Wilcox said he was a dues-paying Proud Boys member for about eight months. In September, East Hampton Police Chief Dennis Woessner told the organization that Wilcox's Proud Boys membership didn't violate department policies. Proud Boys members also have frequently clashed with counterprotesters at rallies in California and Oregon.

  • Closed Captioning / Audio Description
  • Contests and Rules
  • KSAT Internships
  • Email Newsletters
  • Subscribe to KSAT RSS Feeds
  • Contact Us
  • Careers at KSAT
  • Terms of Use
  • Privacy Policy
  • Public File
  • FCC Applications
  • Do Not Sell My Info
Follow Us
facebook
twitter
instagram
youtube
rss
Get Results with Omne
Omne Results Logo

If you need help with the Public File, call 210-351-1241.


Graham Media Group LogoGraham Digital Logo

Copyright ยฉ 2023 KSAT.com is managed by Graham Digital and published by Graham Media Group, a division of Graham Holdings.