TAG: "political propaganda"

Fascist and similar ideological movements have achieved and continue to achieve worldwide success by threatening the fundamental values that are most important to communities and nations. The most likely to provoke a visceral reaction are allegations that threaten the identity of the targeted group. The majority of people react instinctively to verbal attacks on national, gender, racial, religious, family, generational, ideological, existential, political, and thus fundamental identities. As Federico Finchelstein states in his book Fascist Lies, "One of the most important lessons of the history of fascism is that racist lies lead to extreme, politically motivated violence."

In a democratic framework, the source of political legitimacy is the share of votes, which is an imprint of voters' opinions. However, even in an apparently democratic country, the opinion of the vast majority can be significantly different from the opinion that would be formed in an unmanipulated information environment, using the tools of political propaganda. This is why Hungary's Constitution, the Charter of the Union and the UN Charter all recognise the right of citizens to be informed free from manipulation as a fundamental right. If this is not achieved, one of the fundamental conditions for the rule of law is violated. Our measurements cast doubt on the completion of rule of law in Hungary.