Soros Network Bankrolled Anti-Kennedy ‘Disinformation Dozen’

A newly disclosed $250,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations has revealed previously unknown financial support for the Center for Countering Digital Hate, the organization that authored the 2021 “Disinformation Dozen” report targeting Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and other vaccine critics.

The Washington Free Beacon first reported the grant on Monday, identifying it on the Open Society Foundations’ website as “general support.”

The foundation was created and funded by George Soros and is now led by his son, Alex Soros.

The disclosure provides rare insight into the nongovernmental organization’s finances.

According to the Free Beacon, the Center for Countering Digital Hate “does not voluntarily disclose its donors.”

Sayer Ji, chairman of the Global Wellness Forum and founder of GreenMedInfo, wrote on Substack that the Soros-linked support represents only one small portion of “a web of 20+ funders, pass-throughs, hidden trusts, foreign billionaires, and U.S.-U.K. political operatives” supporting the group.

The Center for Countering Digital Hate’s 2021 “Disinformation Dozen” report was cited across major media outlets as the basis for labeling Kennedy and other vaccine skeptics as major sources of online COVID-19 misinformation.

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Some media organizations have since issued corrections to reporting based on the list.

In 2023, internal documents leaked by a whistleblower showed that the Center for Countering Digital Hate had planned to “kill Musk’s Twitter” — now X — and conduct “black ops” against Kennedy.

1) EXCLUSIVE DOCUMENTS: Working w/ @mtaibbi we report on @CCDHate documents showing the Labour Party’s political front’s objective is “Kill Musk’s Twitter” thru “Advertising focus” meaning harass his advertisers.

See internal documents provided by a whistleblower. pic.twitter.com/HRHbeHimAF

— Paul D. Thacker (@thackerpd) October 22, 2024

“Black ops” refers to covert operations that hide the identity of those involved.

Jim Hoft, founder and editor of The Gateway Pundit, which the Center for Countering Digital Hate attempted to demonetize in 2021, said he was not surprised by the connection to Soros.

Hoft said he was “thrilled that this is finally exposed,” adding that Soros has backed “numerous anti-American protests and movements.”

Ji, who was listed in the “Disinformation Dozen,” told The Defender that the Soros connection is “far more than a simple financial disclosure — it’s the moment the curtain gets pulled back on an elaborate theater of manipulation that has been operating in plain sight, yet hidden behind layers of institutional camouflage.”

Ji said the organization “has never operated as an authentic civil society organization” and instead “functions as a sophisticated influence weapon.”

Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, another individual named in the “Disinformation Dozen,” said, “Soros’ money seems to be in everything destructive to liberty and democracy.”

Investigative journalist Paul D. Thacker reported that the Center for Countering Digital Hate has long concealed its donors.

In 2021, the group reported $1,471,247 in donations in its first year operating in the U.S., including an anonymous $1.1 million contribution routed through a Schwab Charitable Fund.

Though the group holds nonprofit status, it is tied to a private Delaware corporation based in Washington, D.C., which does not have to disclose finances.

Thacker said the corporation pays for significant parts of the nonprofit’s operations, including payroll and legal services.

Thacker said, “CCDH does not report their Soros funding because this aligns with their policy of hiding their funders. It’s how Imran Ahmed has always operated since he founded CCDH years ago in London.”

1/ Remember the “Disinformation Dozen”?
In 2021, CCDH labeled 12 Americans—including RFK Jr., myself, and others—as targets for deplatforming.

They pressured Big Tech to silence us for questioning vaccines, challenging pharma narratives, and spreading MISSING Information.

One… pic.twitter.com/ivdNg67577

— Sayer Ji (@sayerjigmi) November 11, 2025

Chiropractor Ben Tapper, also named in the “Disinformation Dozen,” said the group “when pressed, has refused to provide a full donor list.”

The Free Beacon reported that the Center for Countering Digital Hate received $415,000 in 2023 from the Skoll Fund, a philanthropic organization founded by former eBay President Jeff Skoll.

Two members of its board, Gayle E. Smith and Raj Panjabi, played roles in the Biden administration’s COVID-19 response.

A third board member, Shashi Buluswar, previously led GH Labs, a global health nonprofit created by Bill Gates.

Another $403,175 came from the Silicon Valley Communication Foundation, which the Free Beacon described as a donor-advised fund associated with the Skoll Fund.

The foundation does not publicly list its leadership structure.

Ji said the funding, which helped form part of the Center for Countering Digital Hate’s $2.1 million in 2023 revenue, is part of “a vast tapestry of dark money.”

Ji said the network includes Swiss billionaire Hansjörg Wyss and various institutional donors, including those associated with Arabella Advisors and the Sixteen Thirty Fund.

Ji wrote that Wyss “seeded and financed the U.S. political dark-money machine.”

The New York Times reported in 2021 that Wyss “helped build a sophisticated behind-the-scenes operation that attacked Republicans and promoted Democratic causes.”

Ji described Arabella Advisors as distributing more than $2.5 billion to nonprofits and operating more than 350 “pop-up” groups.

Ji said the Sixteen Thirty Fund, managed by Arabella Advisors, is “Arabella’s political weapon.”

Additional organizations funding the Center for Countering Digital Hate include the Elevate Prize Foundation, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Pears Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, Oak Foundation, and the Joseph Rowntree Reform Trust.

Ji said these entities are connected to “U.S. election influence, foreign policy networks, or digital policing initiatives.”

Ji also cited donor-advised funds and U.K.-based Prism the Gift Fund as means by which donors remain anonymous.

Thacker said the Center for Countering Digital Hate and Ahmed have close connections to the Democratic Party and the British Labour Party and have supported censorship legislation such as the U.K.’s Online Safety Act.

Ji wrote that the group forms part of “a transnational censorship-industrial complex.”

Hoft said, “They want us silenced. Now we have proof that Soros is one of many who are funding this.”

Thacker wrote that the group made “materially false” claims to the IRS when applying for tax-exempt status by asserting it was already a registered charity in the U.K., even though it was not.

Thacker said neither the IRS nor the Department of Justice has investigated the claim.

Thacker added that Ahmed is the only salary reported to the IRS — approximately $250,000 — even though internal documents show 28 employees.

“None of the other salaries are reported, as required,” he wrote.

Thacker said, “Very few of CCDH’s own employees know where the money comes from, and who actually pays their salaries.”

In 2023, Rep. Jim Jordan launched a congressional investigation into the Center for Countering Digital Hate and subpoenaed the group for its donor list.

An attorney for the group said it was funded entirely by private donors.

Thacker cited a report by The Telegraph showing that the U.K. government also provided funding.

The Trump administration has considered revoking Ahmed’s visa, according to reports, though Thacker said Ahmed “is trying, or has already gotten, a U.S. passport.”

Thacker wrote that the Department of Justice should indict Ahmed for “lying to Congress and filing materially false statements with the IRS.”