Elon Musk is doing what conspiracy theorists have long accused George Soros of: trying to establish influence over global politics and media.

The contrasting treatment of Musk and Soros reveals a fundamental truth of today’s iteration of right-wing populism: The problem was never billionaire influence itself — it was about ensuring that only a right-wing elite holds power.

Since acquiring X, formerly Twitter, in 2022, Musk has suspended journalists who reported on him, prompting accusations of silencing dissent; done away with independent fact-checking mechanisms; reinstated banned far-right accounts; amplified extremist rhetoric; and made changes to the network’s algorithms that led to the boosting of far-right conspiracy theories.