Social Media Also Affects Freedom of Speech in Hungary

Donald Trump has declared war on the censorship industry. The president-elect stated that his first priority will be to defend free speech, a policy move expected to deeply impact social media. We spoke with Hunor Both, a senior analyst at Szazadveg, about the political influence and power of social media platforms in Hungary.

US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: Hans Lucas via AFP)

Hunor Both recalled that in almost every election campaign, Facebook and YouTube are known to have restricted or banned conservative content. He pointed to Construction and Transport Minister Janos Lazar’s video - filmed in Vienna, during the 2018 election campaign - on the dangers of migration, which Facebook removed, but reinstated later. According to Mr. Both, 

we know from reports leaked later that the content moderators removed the video based on completely subjective and arbitrary judgments.

Discussing censorship, Mr. Both noted similar incidents in Hungary. He cited right-wing influencers who regularly face censorship and mentioned the PestiSracok.hu news site, which Meta had banned last year without providing an explanation, along with the Neokohn news outlet, which faced a similar temporary ban.

As far as I know, neither Rabbi Shlomo Koves's Facebook post, nor Miklos Kasler's post about Csaba Bojte was a violation of any guidelines, yet both were banned. There was no legitimate reason provided in either case.

– Mr. Both emphasized. 

Trump declares war

Commenting on Donald Trump's announcement, the analyst underlined that the president-elect's frustration was understandable, especially as his Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram accounts were suspended in 2020.

Of course later, Mr. Zuckerberg acknowledged that he had faced pressure from the White House to censor certain content. This is an entirely arbitrary restriction on free speech, using social media as a political weapon, and it could undermine public interest, as the sitting president wasn’t even allowed to share his opinions on that platform,

– Szazadveg's senior analyst recalled, noting that the number of social media users is a key factor in this debate.

To illustrate, in 2023 there were over 7 million Facebook users in Hungary alone, and globally, that number exceeds 3 billion. That says it all.

In his view, no tool is currently more effective for mass communication and influence than social media. He stressed that this power comes with great responsibility and should not be misused in a biased manner.

And when a platform imposes arbitrary restrictions, it ultimately restricts freedom of speech,

– Mr. Both stressed. 

He then explained that those banned from these platforms - such as Donald Trump, who was blocked for years - face significant restrictions on their freedom of speech. Mr. Both believes that Trump’s battle against this censorship will likely be supported by figures within his administration, 

such as Elon Musk, the current owner of X, who holds identical views with Trump regarding the importance of free speech.

What Trump means is precisely the political intent behind these restrictions - an intent to ensure that opinions opposing the globalist left do not reach the masses and that such views are immune from criticism, Mr. Both opined. He underlined that this

paints a picture reminiscent of an Orwellian world

Addressing the issue of exerting influence, he pointed out that during the presidential campaign four years ago, Twitter intentionally suppressed stories about the controversial dealings of President Joe Biden’s son, while Trump was barred from expressing his views. Speaking about reach limitations, Mr. Both shared his observation that politically sensitive content or views perceived as insufficiently moderate often struggle to gain traction on platforms like Facebook and YouTube. He cited Donald Trump’s interview with Joe Rogan, which had 48 million views on YouTube, compared to Trump's interview with Tucker Carlson, which generated 268 million views.

Cover photo: US President-elect Donald Trump (Photo: AFP)