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https://theconversation.com/viktor-orbans-election-loss-shows-the-limits-of-his-propaganda-machine-280439>
"Hungarian voters have overwhelmingly rejected the 16-year rule of
authoritarian strongman Viktor Orbán, electing his one-time political ally,
Péter Magyar, to replace him. Magyar’s Tisza party has secured a two-thirds
majority in parliament and therefore a supermajority. This will allow the new
government to roll back some of the illiberal measures introduced Orbán
governments over the years. Magyar has said that he intends to work for a
“free, European” Hungary, which would reverse his predecessor’s rejection of
Brussels.
One of Magyar’s key election promises was to restore press freedom, and reform
state-run media, which, under Orbán, had become a powerful tool for
distributing disinformation.
This huge win for Tisza followed a campaign marred by what many foreign
monitors claimed were unprecedented levels of disinformation, foreign
interference and government propaganda. In fact, the result may come as a
surprise to those who believe that in information autocracies such as Hungary,
where access to news and political discussion is controlled by what have been
dubbed “spin dictators”, election results can easily be controlled by the
ruling party.
Orbán is a textbook example of an information autocrat. The propaganda arsenal
deployed by his ruling Fidesz party in this campaign was as formidable as ever.
Pro-government election billboards blanketed the country, financed not just by
Fidesz but by the government itself and by powerful publicly owned agencies
such as the state energy conglomerate MVM, by the Magyar Nemzeti Bank (MNB) –
Hungary’s central bank – and by a host of government-aligned NGOs."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
