Agnes Urban

My short comment in The Guardian about the important role of Blikk in the Hungarian media market. Ringier, the publisher of the tabloid was sold to a pro-government owner just a few days ago. Leaving of all international publishers was an unimaginable scenario after the 1990 political transition.

Outsourced Political Campaign: Role of Pro-Government Political Influencers in Spreading Hostile Narratives in Hungary | Article | Media and Communication Kata Horváth, Gábor Polyák, Ágnes Urbán

Our new paper has been published in @cogitatiomac.bsky.social. The paper is about Megafon which is a Hungarian political influencer group, a typical example for state sponsored disinfo.

“Viktor is making a historic mistake.” An exclusive interview with President Zelenskyy | Válasz Online

Media history in Hungary: Valasz Online (a high-quality crowdfunded online magazine launched in 2018) published an exclusive interview with Volodymyr Zelensky. He is absolutely aware that Hungarian PM Viktor Orban builds anti-Ukrainian sentiment in Hungary because of his own electoral purposes.

"We are here to stay – Hungary is our country. We do not ask for permission to help those in need, to act for the common good, to write the news, to stand up for those in need, to participate in shaping our own lives, and we do not ask for permission to criticise when we disagree with something."

I cannot imagine a more powerful tool in the EU's hands to restore media freedom in Hungary.

Sympathy and support from Budapest 🇭🇺

There are also valuable contributions in this special issue, incl. narrative analyses, disinformation representation, elite discourse research focusing on media and political elites, and so on. cjssp.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php/cj...

Agnes Urban, director of Mertek Media Monitor published a paper about the Hungarian media capture (The Restructuring of the Hungarian Media System). The pdf is downloadable. cjssp.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php/cj...

"Orbán slowly replaced civil servants with loyalists; used economic pressure and regulation to destroy the free press; robbed universities of their independence, and shut one of them down; politicized the court system; and repeatedly changed the constitution to give himself electoral advantages."

HDMO 😍 conference recommendation ⬇️
🌏 Budapest
🗓 April 2

Hungary's ruling party submits bill to ban Pride march Hungary's ruling party submitted a bill to parliament on Monday that would ban the Pride march by LGBTQ+ communities and impose fines on organisers and people attending the event which Budapest has held for three decades.

Orban's bill banning the Budapest Pride would allow the authorities to fine not only organizers but also participants (!)

As I have said, never before was a better time to go to Hungary, attend this year's pride march in Budapest and call Orban's bluff.
www.reuters.com/world/europe...

💥Viktor Orbán deployed pure dehumanizing fascist rhetoric in his March 15 speech to threaten his critics:

“The stink bugs survived the winter. We'll dismantle the financial machinery that has bought politicians, judges, journalists, fake NGOs and political activists... They've survived too much."

For years, many of us have been saying that the Orban regime could be toxic and dangerous for Europe. I didn't think it was so much.

MAJORITY OF EU MEMBER STATES TAKE A STAND AGAINST HUNGARY’S RUSSIA-STYLE LAW In our previous issue, I spoke with Reclaim’s Esther Martinez about their campaign to rally EU member states against Viktor Orbán’s Russia-style Sovereignty Protection Act – the same law that created the Sovereignty Protection Office. The key question was how many countries would join the European Commission’s lawsuit against Hungary’s repressive legislation. Now that the deadline for member states to intervene has passed, Reclaim’s latest press release provides a near-final count: “Fourteen EU Member States, Norway and the European Parliament have formally intervened in the European Commission’s lawsuit against Hungary’s anti-NGO law, marking the largest legal mobilization against shrinking democratic space in EU history. Belgium, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Germany, Czech Republic, Poland, Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Estonia, Lithuania, Ireland, Spain, and Portugal have officially requested to join the proceedings, and two more governments are expected to back the case when the Court of Justice of the EU (CJEU) holds its hearing.” This means that a majority of the 27-member bloc is taking a stand. Esther is still hopeful that Malta and Austria will join, with the latter’s government having been sworn in just two days ago, after the deadline for member states to join. One major omission so far is France. Despite its historical role as a champion of European human rights and freedoms, it has chosen not to take part. France has increasingly played both sides when it comes to Orbán, and French companies have benefited from Hungary’s regime.

🇪🇺💪14 EU countries, Norway + the European Parliament are standing against Orbán's Russia-style foreign agents law. Huge thanks to @reclaim-eu.bsky.social's Esther Martinez for leading the campaign & to all showing solidarity with 🇭🇺 civil society and journalists.

🔗Source: vsquare.org/orbans-secre...

Slava Ukraini! - in Budapest