The article highlights the alarming similarities between the media suppression strategies employed by Viktor Orbán in Hungary and the current actions of Donald Trump’s administration in the United States. The author draws from personal experiences as a journalist who witnessed Orbán's media takeover firsthand. Through legal harassment and media manipulation, both leaders seek to control narratives and silence independent voices. The chilling impact of these methods on the press is underscored, suggesting a troubling trend for democracy in both countries.
As I watch from afar what's happening to the free press in the United States during the first weeks of Trump's second presidency-the verbal bullying, the legal harassment, the buckling by media owners in the face of threats-it all looks very familiar.
When Viktor Orbán gave a speech in 2022 at a Conservative Political Action Conference gathering in Budapest, he shared his secret to amassing power with Donald Trump's fan base: 'We must have our own media,' he told his audience.
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