In a serious breach of journalistic integrity, the EUobserver has censored a major portion of Hungarian government spokesman Zoltán Kovács’ letter he wrote in response to an op-ed penned by Human Rights Watch CEO Kenneth Roth
Roth’s op-ed, featuring the sensational title “Stopping the authoritarian rot in Europe”, was an attack piece that the Hungarian government felt deserved a response given the amount of misinformation contained within it. Human Rights Watch, funded by billionaire financier George Soros, has been critical of Hungary in the past.
Kovács wrote that Roth’s op-ed for EUobserver was essentially a “copy-paste adaptation of every other editorial you’ve read about Hungary over the last few weeks, regurgitating claims that the government’s extraordinary measures to fight COVID-19 amount to “dictatorship.'”
Kovács’ letter addressing the Human Rights Watch article outlines how Hungary has, through decisive action, flattened the curve in the country and saved lives. The Hungarian government’s policies have enabled it to be included in the top three countries in the EU for the lowest amount of coronavirus cases per million inhabitants in the EU, a fact that proves just how effective the government has been during the crisis.
Writing on behalf of the Hungarian government, Kovacs also points out the numerous other countries that have implemented a state of emergency and given extraordinary powers to their governments.
Kovács writes that the following section was censored from his letter to EUobserver:
“What we have here is a cabal of politically motivated groups – more than a few of them, like Human Rights Watch, funded by the ‘philanthropist’ George Soros – creating a political problem. They oppose the Orbán Government because we are proponents of national sovereignty, Judeo-Christian culture and identity and a strong EU based on strong nation states, and an obstacle to their globalist agenda.”
The Hungarian government spokesman says that the censorship reflects the general attitude of “politically motivated groups who exploit Hungary” and in line with their policy of ignoring and dismissing “fact-based and rational arguments”.
Kovacs said he had requested an explanation for the change but had received no response from EUobserver.
Remix News has also previously reported on a number of falsehoods and areas of misinformation being reported by the media about Hungary’s state of emergency. Many media reports fail to mention fact that the law is constitutional, can be revoked at any, and narrowly tailored to ensure it is targeted at combating coronavirus.
Despite Roth’s claims of a Hungarian “dictatorship”, European Commission Vice President for Values and Transparency Věra Jourová recently admitted on Czech public television that Hungary’s law does not violate any European guidelines.
