IN the past decade, shaping another country’s public opinion has evolved into a full-fledged industry. Governments now routinely engage in sophisticated “political technology” to sway mass perception and steer sentiment abroad: online propaganda blitzes, choreographed street protests, even colour-revolution-style tactics.

To understand what Soros’s intentions might be, one must pay attention to what he commented about Brazil. According to him, Brazil would represent a “progressive model” of democracy for “the whole world.”