The New Economy Organisers Network (NEON), dubbed "Commie Academy" by Charlotte Gill in her August 25, 2025, Daily Sceptic article, has emerged as a powerful force in training progressive activists to dominate airwaves and public debates. Backed by George Soros's Open Society Foundations and other major donors, NEON claims to empower social justice movements through training, networking, and campaign support. But critics, including Gill, argue it's more than a grassroots incubator, it's a well-funded machine scripting activists to push a Left-wing agenda, raising questions about the authenticity of the voices it amplifies and the influence of its billionaire backers. As NEON's reach grows, it's worth examining its operations, funding, and the broader implications of its activist pipeline.
NEON, founded in 2015, describes itself as a UK-based network of over 1,600 organisers from 900 civil society groups, dedicated to advancing social, economic, and environmental justice. According to its website, NEON runs programs like Movement Builders, OrgBuilders, and the Spokesperson Network, offering intensive training in organising, media skills, and strategy development. Its flagship Spokesperson Network, for instance, has secured over 11,000 high-profile media appearances on platforms like BBC's Question Time and Newsnight, training activists to deliver polished messages on issues from migration to climate change. NEON's Transformative Organising program provides one-on-one coaching, while its open-source toolkits, like messaging guides on wealth taxes and climate justice, equip campaigners with ready-to-use narratives.
The organisation's theory of change operates on two levels: short-term impact through skills training and media bookings, and long-term movement-building to align progressive groups for systemic change. In 2023 alone, NEON trained over 500 organisers and supported campaigns like Just Treatment, which challenges pharmaceutical pricing in the NHS. Its 2024 initiatives included election law seminars for 150+ organisations and a Worker-Led Transition project with the Trades Union Congress to prioritise workers in climate policies. These efforts, NEON claims, empower grassroots voices to challenge inequality and environmental destruction.
NEON's influence comes with significant financial backing, including from George Soros's Open Society Foundations (OSF), as noted by Gill and confirmed by NEON's own disclosures. OSF, the world's largest private funder of civil society groups, has donated over $32 billion globally to advance justice and democracy, per its website. NEON also lists funding from the Oak Foundation, Paul Hamlyn Foundation, European Climate Foundation, and others, totalling millions annually. In 2017, the Guerrilla Foundation provided core funding, praising NEON's "nimble" approach to activist capacity-building. These funds support a staff of 26 and dozens of projects, from media trainings to incubating groups like KIN, a network for Black activists.
Critics like Gill argue this funding, particularly from Soros, raises red flags. OSF's history of supporting progressive causes, $140 million to advocacy groups in 2021 alone, per CNBC, suggests a deliberate effort to shape public narratives. The concern is that NEON's resources, bankrolled by elite donors, create a pipeline of activists who amplify pre-crafted messages, potentially drowning out organic voices.
NEON's training programs, particularly its Spokesperson Network, are central to the criticism. Gill's Daily Sceptic piece suggests NEON provides "scripts" to activists, producing polished but possibly inauthentic media appearances. A 2024 X post by @CharlotteCGill highlights NEON-trained activist Zoe Gardner's controversial media presence, implying her talking points were rehearsed to align with NEON's agenda. NEON's own resources, like its messaging guide for the 2024 "We Are the Economy" campaign, provide detailed talking points on public services, which critics argue resemble scripted narratives designed to steer discourse.
This scripting raises questions about authenticity. A 2023 Journal of Media Studies analysis found that trained spokespeople often dominate media coverage, sidelining less polished but more representative voices. NEON's 11,000+ media bookings suggest it's effective at placing activists, but X users like @not__vee counter that "real activism" happens offline, in direct engagement with policymakers, not scripted soundbites. The risk, critics warn, is a homogenised public debate where Soros-funded talking points overshadow grassroots perspectives, undermining democratic discourse.
NEON's defenders argue it's filling a critical gap, training marginalised groups to navigate a media landscape often hostile to progressive causes. Its anti-oppression policies, like transparent pay scales and gender-neutral parental leave, aim to make activism inclusive, per its website. Yet the Soros connection fuels scepticism. A 2025 X post by @JimFergusonUK links Soros's $12.6 million to U.S. protests, suggesting a pattern of elite influence over activism.
The data paints a mixed picture. NEON's trainings have undeniably amplified progressive voices, with 60 organisers trained in its 2017 Movement Builders program alone, per its history page. But the reliance on billionaire funding raises valid concerns about whose interests are served. A 2024 Political Studies paper notes that donor-driven activism can prioritise funder priorities over community needs, potentially alienating the very groups NEON claims to uplift.
NEON's impact is undeniable, but so is the need for scrutiny. The solution isn't to silence NEON, but to demand transparency, about its funding, training methods, and the extent of its scripting. Voters deserve to know whether the voices on their screens are grassroots or groomed. Until then, NEON's role as a Soros-funded activist factory will remain a lightning rod, fuelling distrust in a media landscape already fraught with bias.
https://dailysceptic.org/2025/08/25/the-soros-funded-organisation-providing-scripts-to-activists/