Facebook threatens democracy, says Soros-backed foundation

Open Society Foundations hits out after reports firm tried to discredit critics as agents of philanthropist

Open Society Foundations has hit out at Facebook as "reprehensible" after a PR agency hired by the social networking site reportedly tried to discredit critics by claiming they were agents of George Soros.

Patrick Gaspard, the president of OSF, said Facebook's methods "threaten the very values underpinning our democracy" in a letter addressed to Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook's chief operating officer and the executive responsible for the company's political operations over last few years. OSF was founded by Soros in 1993 to fund civil rights groups around the world.