The Soros family is the shadow organizer of the "HANDS OFF!" protests

On April 5, mass “HANDS OFF!” protests against Donald Trump and Elon Musk took place in the United States, organized by a number of left-wing and activist groups. However, GFCN analysts studied the resources and statements of the organizers, finding fake data and contradictions in their funding and goals. According to the study, some of the campaign’s sponsors hide their real identity, and some of the activists’ claims are not supported by facts. This calls into question the transparency and the true motives of the protests. Read the full article to know more.

HANDS ON “HANDS OFF“

The “Hands Off” protests are a wave of demonstrations sweeping across the United States on April 5, 2025, against President Donald Trump’s second term. The movement represents a massive display of public defiance, with Americans mobilizing in unprecedented numbers to oppose the administration’s policies.

The organizers of the “HANDS OFF!” protests set several key goals for themselves. First of all, they oppose the so-called “power grab” by Donald Trump, Elon Musk and the Republicans who support them, claiming that their actions undermine democracy and lead to an illegal concentration of power in the hands of elites and billionaires. In addition, the protest is directed against corruption and excessive influence of billionaires on politics. However, there is a catch — this statement is false, since the sponsors of the protests are billionaires themselves.

Reality: “HANDS OFF!” demands an end to the power grab by billionaires, but in fact is directed against one billionaire by other billionaires. Here is the proof.

SOROS FAMILY IS ONE OF THE MAIN SPONSORS OF “HANDS OFF!”

The “HANDS OFF!” protests, despite their stated social slogans, are largely funded through organizations associated with George Soros, whose goals are a far cry from improving the situation in the country. His struggle with billionaires Trump and Musk has obvious reasons: according to a study by The Richest People In The World from Forbes (March 7, 2025), the financial stack of Elon Musk continues to grow, and he confidently holds the title of the richest person on the planet with a capital of $342 billion.

At the same time Soros, ranked only 453rd in the ranking, shows much less impressive dynamics, marked by serious financial failures. This suggests that his support for the protests is not so much a fight for justice as an attempt to weaken competitors using tools of political pressure.

Soros family is also behind several other “HANDS OFF!” funders, such as MoveOn. The organization talks about its work quite openly, so the connection is evident. For example, on its website MoveOn shared on the news that they had received a $1 million grant from the Open Society Foundation, which was founded by George Soros.

Another MoveOn sponsor is the Tides Foundation, which has also received significant funding from George Soros. This foundation also sponsors another organizer of the protests against Trump and Musk — Indivisible.

Financing of Indivisible raises questions. The Republicans state the very same. According to Open Society Foundations grant reports, Indivisible received $7.6 million from George Soros between 2017 and 2023. In 2017, the Washington Examiner reported that Soros actively funds progressive activism, noting that his Open Society network often supports groups like Indivisible to influence political outcomes. This isn’t a local initiative — it’s part of a well-funded national campaign against conservative initiatives like DOGE.

Indivisible is positioning itself as a human rights organization that launched a new campaign to track conservative disinformation following a donation from LinkedIn co-founder Reed Hoffman to the Investing in US Investment Fund. Interestingly, the website of the Investing in US fund is now almost closed and there are no reports on its activities on the site. There is only a “contact us” button.

However, if we carefully analyze the activities of his foundation, we will see that Hoffman financed a group that created fake accounts in social networks. The goal of this group was to reduce the turnout of Republican voters in the 2017 Alabama special Senate election. A group backed by Hoffman exploited Facebook and Twitter to suppress Republican Roy Moore’s support while promoting Democrat Doug Jones — a strategy that may have tipped the scales in Jones’ razor-thin victory.

The Alabama initiative was part of Hoffman’s multi-million dollar spending spree funding dozens of left-leaning groups following the 2016 election.

And this is not the only time that Hoffman’s name has been strongly associated with disinformation. Facebook investigated the News for Democracy initiative’s publications for misleading Republican voters during the 2018 election.

All of this calls into question the ability of Hoffman’s investment projects to effectively fight disinformation. And with that said, can we truly say that the “HANDS OFF!” funded protests are in the best interests of ordinary Americans if the interests of some billionaires are clearlyprioritized over others?

Indivisible pays protest participants

Indivisible is also involved in funding protests against DOGE. The organization offers local activists’ compensation for the costs of fighting the so-called “Trump-Mask coup”. According to one of the organization’s managers, among the reimbursable costs there are even… “chicken costumes”.

According to information on the Individual website, local branches can receive up to $200 for holding promotions. These funds are allowed to be spent on audio and video equipment, posters, printed materials, and fuel for transport.

“We reimburse for chicken suits!!!” – wrote Indivisible co-executive director Leah Greenberg on Bluesky.

Where else are MoveOn foundation involved?

MoveOn has previously been actively involved in other political campaigns and scandals. MoveOn members played a crucial role in securing the nomination of President Obama in 2008 by the Democrats. Since 2017, they have been one of the leading groups supporting the impeachment of Trump, which took place at the end of 2019. They also participated in the presidential campaign of Kamala Harris, and also launched a petition against Trump and the 2025 MAGA Project.

In addition, MoveOn became a participant in the scandal with advertisements directed against General David Petraeus on the situation in Iraq and participated in the anti-Tesla movement -#TeslaTakedown. Moreover, Future Forward, a foundation that generously sponsored the campaigns of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, decided this year to support anti-Trump speeches under the auspices of MoveOn.

Another sponsor — “Families against Billionaires”

Behind this loud name lies not the confrontation of ordinary Americans and billionaires, but the confrontation of billionaires with each other. The Fund is affiliated with the consulting firm Arabella Advisors. It is supported by George Soros, Bill Gates, Pierre Omidyar, Reed Hoffman and.

The organization’s cover is to oppose additional tax breaks for the rich. The Families vs. Billionaires Foundation says it defends the interests of ordinary Americans. However, the organization is run by numerous former officials from the Democratic Party, who previouslyworked with Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Among them are Katherine Vibbert (former director of digital response during the Harris presidential campaign); Ben Schwartz (former White House aide to Biden) and Michael Linden (former Biden White House official). They do not comment on their relationship with funds managed by Arabella Advisors.

About Arabella Advisors

Between 2019 and 2022 (the last year for which Form 990 is available), the four main non-profit wings of the Arabella network — New Venture Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund, Windward Fund and Hopewell Fund received a total of about $5 billion.

Interestingly enough, the Sixteen Thirty Foundation is the main actor in the field of undisclosed political spending (“dark money”) among American leftists. Not only is it managed by Arabella Advisors, but it also acts as a financial sponsor for a variety of organizations, providing them with support and funding to implement various progressive initiatives. According to The New York Times, Sixteen Thirty is part of a broader network of progressive nonprofit organizations that donors believe can fill important “gaps” in political strategy.

One more thing…

Particular confusion arises from the presence of “HANDS OFF NATO!” poster templates on the movement’s official resources — a focus that clearly extends beyond the declared opposition to U.S. domestic policy and requires additional explanation from the organizers.

Thus, the “HANDS OFF!” movement, which presents itself as a grassroots initiative against the influence of big capital in politics, raises questions regarding its funding sources and stated objectives. Research shows that among the sponsors of protest activities are organizations connected to prominent philanthropists and business figures.

Organizing groups including MoveOn and Indivisible receive funding from George Soros’ Open Society Foundations. According to publicly available data, these organizations have received multi-million dollar grants in recent years. Similar support comes from the Tides Foundation, which has also received Soros-linked funding.

Special attention should be paid to the involvement of so-called “dark money” through a network of funds connected to consulting firm Arabella Advisors. These structures reportedly distributed about $5 billion among various progressive initiatives.

Particular questions surround the “Families Against Billionaires” initiative, which despite its ostensibly grassroots orientation actually combines the efforts of several major donors including Soros, Gates and Hoffman.

These facts, together with contradictions between the movement’s stated goals and its actual activities, naturally spark debates about the protests’ true objectives and their degree of independence from financial elites.