1/ In November, Hungary’s gov’t controlled media was busier than ever attacking independent journalists. These were coordinated smear campaigns in TV, print&online media. Here is a recap of how @b_novak, @erdelyip, @indexhu’s Gabor Miklosi & @floragaramvolgy were targeted. THREAD
2/ Background: Viktor Orban’s right-wing party suffered unexpected losses in Hungary’s municipal election on October 13. They’ve lost Budapest & many large cities.

Party bigwigs started blaming pollsters & especially the still too independent online media sphere for the defeat.
6/ And we’re finishing November with Orban’s media empire targeting the @guardian & its reporting on Hungary's withdrawal from the Eurovision song contest. To retaliate, pro-Orban media smears @floragaramvolgy & they even dug into her private FB profile. https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-radio/2019/nov/27/hungary-pulls-out-of-eurovision-amid-rise-in-anti-lgbt-rhetoric
8/ These smear campaigns are partly aimed at scaring the targeted journalists, making their life harder so that next time they’ll think twice before publishing a critical piece on the Hungarian gov’t. These attacks are usually followed up by hateful emails, comments & trolling.
9/ The other goal is to discredit both the individual journalists & their respective outlets in the eyes of Orban’s voters so that they won’t believe reports on corruption, abuse of power, improper behavior etc. Fidesz pollsters are constantly monitoring their voters’ sentiments.
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