You are here: Home > List of issues > 2018 > Central European Journal of Communication Volume 11 No 1(21) Fall 2018 > Propaganda against the West in the Heart of Europe. A masked official state campaign in Hungary
Propaganda against the West in the Heart of Europe.
A masked official state campaign in Hungary
Márton Demeter
KAROLI GASPAR UNIVERSITY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH, HUNGARY
ABSTRACT: There is a twofold crisis in Europe: While mass migration is a serious challenge to the whole EU, we also have member-states striking at the EU itself. Our research shows that Hungary, with its overwhelming political communication, became the first post-socialist EU member state to run official anti-Western propaganda since the end of the Cold War and it seems that other CEE countries will follow its lead. Th e campaign does not go against Brussels directly: the real message
is hidden between the lines. We analyzed 644 pro-government articles on migration issues. The research shows that anti-Brussels narratives were strikingly frequent, and a new “war vocabulary” propaganda campaign started, stating that the EU is fighting against Hungary, so Hungary has to strike back.
DOI: 10.19195/1899-5101.11.2(21).5
KEYWORDS: political communication, anti-Western propaganda, media bias, populism, migrant crisis.
AUTHOR:
- Márton Demeter
ORCID: 0000-0002-9888-9682
KAROLI GASPAR UNIVERSITY OF THE REFORMED CHURCH, HUNGARY