How much the German press lies about us

While Germany is our most important trade partner and our economic relations are excellent, the same cannot be said about the German press. As if they had chosen Ferenc Gyurcsány's confession as a slogan: "We lied morning, night and night", the German media likes to defame our country with obvious lies.

Most recently, the German state TV, Deutsche Welle, shot the film in Buda Castle. In any case, a lot of fake news about Hungary appears in the German-language press. But why? What could be the reason for anti-Hungarianism? Anita Kovács asked Jan Mainká , the editor-in-chief of the Budapester Zeitung, about this in the Regiszter broadcast We quote from the conversation on Karc fm .

Have you seen the movie about Buda Castle?

No, I haven't seen it, but I can imagine what's in it. However, I examined it carefully, I watched the one-and-a-half-hour documentary about Hungary called "Hello Dictator" several times. It was torture to watch. They are all similar. You can't wait for anything else. They are so predictable. Give me a topic and I can tell you exactly what it will contain. Boring!

What language skills do journalists, television editors or radio reporters who make films about Hungary have? Where do you think they get their information anyway?

It's simple. If we look at what comes from their pen at the end, it is clear that they use one-sided sources, namely: they turn to the opposition, NGOs, left-wing EU or green representatives, and compile a so-called documentary based on this. We did a very nice cover design two weeks ago for our magazine, where a person is sitting in front of a screen, he has a headset, he receives cables from the left and right. On the left, there's the thick green, red, and momentary purple cable, and on the right, there's this little gray, barely noticeable little cable, and then they write their articles based on that. The caption on the title page reads: DICTATION, because that's what it's about. They dictate it to their pen one by one. It is important for an opposition party or an NGO to tell everyone their message, but it is the duty of a journalist to collect information from both sides and compile his article based on that. But the fact that someone consciously gathers information only from the page he likes produces, unsurprisingly, a one-sided article. This is completely irresponsible, because articles are created that paint a completely false, skewed image of Hungary, and the problem is that the German newspaper reader or listener, who has no better source of information - not everyone is a Budapester Zeitung subscriber - is forced to believe this, and many people believe it, and then they get the impression that Hungary is a sad, gray, depressing dictatorship...

...In Hungary, for many decades, we considered German journalism to be a benchmark, one of the basic principles of which is that both sides should be heard. That's why there are journalistic organizations there, doesn't anyone notice the one-sidedness?

It will certainly stand out, but it is tolerated and even expected! And the fact that we consider German journalism as a benchmark must be quickly forgotten. This was perhaps twenty years ago, and today the so-called Haltungsjournalismus is very widespread in Germany. This is behavioral, worldview journalism, the task of which is no longer to inform readers, but to educate, educate, push them towards an insight, and they reach for all kinds of tools without blushing. It starts with the selection of the source, the selective source selection, which we have already talked about, and continues with the use of the indicator. For example, they are unable to describe the name of the Hungarian Prime Minister as Viktor Orbán, but instead always put it as nationalist, populist EU critic, homophobe, anti-Semite - whatever they like. If we take out any article, we know that at the first mention there is at least one from this negative indicator dictionary. But they also manipulate the photo selection! Every time there is a report where Viktor Orbán appears and where his picture is to be used, surprisingly they always find a picture of him that shows him in an unfavorable pose...

Isn't the same system of tools used in relation to the leaders of the opposition?

No! Well, these are the great heroes. Those who were in this documentary called "Hallo Diktator". They became friends with them. The goal that brings them together is to oust the Orbán government. So they don't look at the fact that they are now "Apró klan", they completely forget that, but show the Gyurcsánys and everyone who speaks there in a good light. Of course, what certain Jobbik representatives say about Jews is also not included. The German newspaper reader only gets an embellished picture of the Hungarian opposition, how noble and important they are, how they fight against anti-Semitism and corruption, and are presented as Hungary's last hope. On the other hand, what comes from the civilian side is bad, false, and a liar, and should only be presented in a bad light, if it is presented at all.

You can read the interview in its entirety here. The articles are written in pen

(Featured image source: Vojdaság.ma)