Letter of Complaint to HirTV for their racist and anti-migrant segment.

Below is our full letter of complaint:

To whom it may concern,

We, at the Media Diversity Institute (MDI), are writing to express concern regarding a broadcast on your station which aired on January 5th, 2020. On this date, Zsolt Bayer played a video during his show on HírTV which allegedly shows “a white Swedish boy” being robbed and humiliated by “two migrants”. Our complaint in regards to this matter is rooted in the language used by Bayer during this broadcast, and we would like to know why Bayer was allowed to use racist and dehumanising language on your platform.

During the broadcast, Bayer calls the alleged harassers “black animals” and questions whether they belong in the country (Sweden): “they are animals. How did they get here and how long can they stay?” He wonders why “the society would not demand the immediate cleansing of these black animals, in the strictest sense of the word”. He continues by stating that “they would most likely be excused, as we have already seen.” This language is not only racist, but extremely dehumanising. Historically labels of animalisation have been directed towards black people as an instrument of inferiorisation. When the word animal is used to refer to a person of colour, as well as a migrant, it constitutes a racist dehumanisation. Bayer also refers to the “cleansing” of “these black animals,” which can been seen as a direct call for violence. This dangerous language goes against the Hungarian Press Act and is extremely dangerous to air on national television.

We believe this content violates Article 17 (2) of the Hungarian Press Act: “The prohibition of the exclusion of any nation, community, national, ethnic, linguistic and other minority or any majority as well as any church or religion group in media content.” Moreover, the Press Act also prohibits the “incitement to hatred against any nation, community, national, ethnic, linguistic or other minority or any majority as well as any church or religious group in media content.” The broadcast on January 5th 2020 clearly violates this Act. The language used is racist and dehumanising and is unacceptable no matter what alleged crime is being discussed. It is important for news platform to discuss crime, yes, but journalistic standards should always be upheld.

Bayer has been fined for hateful speech by the Media Council in the past, and it is therefore disappointing to see him continue to be granted a platform on HírTV, especially when that platform is used to continue to spread hate speech. We want to stress that the right to freedom of expression does not protect dehumanizing words and language. We hereby call upon HírTV to openly declare whether you identify with Bayer’s words and racist attitude, and if not, to issue an apology for the broadcast.

MDI works internationally to encourage inclusive and sensitive media coverage and to promote diversity. We have been at the frontline of the fight against discrimination in new and traditional media.  We are also the British partner in Get the Trolls Out, a European project that aims to counter discrimination within the media. Part of this project includes monitoring the media in the several European countries for anti-religious hate speech. One of the countries we monitor on a monthly basis is Hungary, hence why we are writing this complaint. We are pro-monitoring and pro-accountability and will call out only hateful and inflammatory reporting.

We look forward to hearing from you.

Kind regards,

We have not yet received a response for HirTV, but will update this page if we do.