You read it here first: Sen. Marco Rubio’s chief of staff Cesar Conda never worked for George Soros.
(But if you believe the emails you receive — or what you read on some anti-Rubio blogs — you might just think he did.)
The rumors apparently started when someone discovered that Conda and Soros (and dozens of others) are listed on the masthead of the International Economy Magazine.
This, of course, means nothing. But despite the tenuous connection, the anti-Rubio forces pounced.
One blog called “FireAndreaMitchell” alleged that “Cesar Conda worked on the editorial advisory board of George Soros magazine, The International Economy Magazine.” (For what it’s worth, they also call Conda an “immigration lawyer,” which is has never been, but that’s another story.)
David M. Smick, the publisher of the International Economy Magazine, emailed me this statement: “Soros has never had any financial involvement. Has not written for the publication since the late 1980s when he wrote about the importance of defeating the Soviet influence in Eastern Europe.”
There is no indication that Conda and Soros have even met, much less worked together. What is more, the masthead treats Soros and Conda as equals. It’s unclear why anyone would assume Soros ran the magazine. Still, the rumor quickly made its way to sites like FreeRepublic and DailyPaul.
Blogs were blogged, emails were blasted, and tweets were tweeted.
George Soros?? @cesarconda?? @senmarcorubio….seriously? ROFLMAO!!! What prompted u 2commit political suicide?
— USshrugged (@USshrugged) May 9, 2013
Look, I get that some anti-immigration folks are paranoid and desperately searching for a silver bullet to destroy Sen. Rubio and this effort. And I also get that we all make mistakes. But that’s not what this is. This is an attempt to spread a false conspiracy theory.
Don’t believe everything you read on the Internet.
