SVF Complains to Local Hungarian Newspaper about Positive Publicity for a Neo-Nazi
As part of Get the Trolls Out (GTTO) work in Hungary, Subjective Values Foundation (SVF) submitted a complaint to a local newspaper Békési for providing positive publicity to a Neo-nazi. The bi-weekly Békési is a free public-service publication for five settlements in Hungary’s Békés region, with a combined population of 24,000. On 6th April this year, as part of its regular column about notable locals, Békési interviewed a confectionary chef, Attila Petrovszki about his professional motivation and family life.
While the content of this interview is innocuous in of itself, Hungary’s independent weekly Magyar Narancs later highlighted that Petrovszki is a well-known Neo-Nazi and his body is covered with Nazi tattoos, including a portrait of Hitler, swastikas and violent antisemitic phrases. By providing Petrovszki with a platform while failing to challenge his hateful views, Békési failed to adhere to professional ethic standards and contributed to the normalisation of far-right ideologies.
In their complaint, SVF stated:
“We think it is important to inform the public about these symbols and the associated subculture. This is in line with the IHRA anti-Semitism commitment adopted by the Hungarian government and in the spirit of zero tolerance for anti-Semitism.
It would mean a lot to both the readers and the journalism profession to reflect on this issue in some way in the pages of the newspaper. If you allow us, we will raise three possible ideas that could move the situation in a positive direction.
First, if you have access to the Jewish community living in Békés region, you might could someone from the community to write an article in the next edition. Having an interview with a Jewish religious leader or another prominent person in the same column, even if they do not respond explicitly to this case, would already be an important symbolic step on your part.
Another option is to invite a local historian or history teacher to explain the horrors of totalitarian ideologies in a few sentences and why it is important to categorically reject these concepts today.
My third suggestion would be to give your platform to an individual who had been a member of the neo-Nazi movement themselves, but has since left it to fight the spread of extremist groups and ideas.”
This page will be updated if and when SVF receive a response.