“This attempt to keep Orban’s Hungary as a model has been growing for over a year now, and it’s a concern,” Dresden said. has been on a gradual path (towards authoritarianism) for over a decade at this point, and Orban follows the strategy so closely in ways that everyone should be concerned.”
Her group’s playbook describes seven basic tactics used by “aspiring authoritarians” and offers a guide on how reporters and editors can recognize and report them. To do. The means used to gain authoritarian control range from trying to control the media to inciting violence and corrupting elections, according to the report.
Orban’s coverage at CPAC should include “the fact that the majority of the Hungarian media is controlled by the government or its allies,” Dresden said. It should also include changes to the ruling party at the expense of the opposition in terms of how constituencies are elected and how elections are conducted,” she added.
Another piece of important context is the timing of Orban’s arrival at CPAC.
“You don’t want to give this guy airtime, but it’s a story you have to cover,” said Robert C. Lieberman, a professor of political science at Johns Hopkins University.
“The fact that American conservatives seem to admire him and think of him as someone to emulate really reveals the true colors of the Republican Party and that faction of the American conservative movement.” Add.
“When Tucker Carlson says good things about him on TV or does his show from Budapest (last summer), it’s one thing.When CPAC holds a conference in Budapest (5 Moon) is yet another. “But I think Orban’s standing up in the United States as a mouthpiece for this movement exposes it to another level of potential harm.”
Dresden said the story “shouldn’t be ignored, but it’s also a situation that could have some negative impact by expanding Orban and his role.”
She warns against sensationalism: “And it goes beyond reporters. We know from other studies in other fields that headlines matter and images matter.. So the first thing to do is be thoughtful and take some time to think about the press.
There was a fair amount of thoughtful pre-speech coverage.
Lieberman hopes that people who read or see such articles will think about the seriousness and potential dangers of Orban’s CPAC visit.
“We thought of CPAC as a circus,” he said. “There are these people gathered here, wearing ridiculous clothes, talking among themselves. And they’re kind of harmless. But that’s not the case anymore.”
Source: www.cnn.com
