Kentucky governor's rant at local paper resorts to tired tactic: blame Soros

Matt Bevin appeared to use an antisemitic dog whistle in his social media broadside against the Courier-Journal

Luke O'Neil
Thu 13 Dec 2018 16.02 GMT Last modified on Thu 13 Dec 2018 16.04 GMT

On Wednesday night Kentucky’s Republican governor Matt Bevin posted a three minute diatribe to his social media channels directed at the local Courier-Journal newspaper. In the flailing and accusatory rant Bevin alleged the paper was “dying” and a shadow of what it once was.

Then, using an antisemitic dog whistle that has become commonplace among rightwing Republicans, he denounced the paper’s recent partnership with the non-profit investigative journalism group ProPublica, leaning on its connections to the billionaire philanthropist George Soros, who is frequently a target of anti-Jewish attacks.

@GovMattBevin
OUTRAGEOUS.

ProPublica, a left-wing activist group funded by the likes of George Soros, is now funding . . . "investigative reporting" at the @courierjournal.

Is this the future of journalism?

Who is holding the Courier-Journal accountable?

Link to tweet

The Courier-Journal recently announced a partnership with ProPublica, known for its hard-hitting exposés typically on the abuses of power, like one this week on poor people being more likely to face tax scrutiny than the wealthy.

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The newspaper announced the program earlier on Wednesday, saying it was part of ProPublica’s initiative to help bolster coverage in statehouses at a time when funding for such reporting has dried up. It sounds like the type of reporting that might make a governor with something to hide particularly nervous.

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