Alerts | Fake news regulation passed during Covid-19
Covid-19

Press freedom threatened as Hungary criminalizes coronavirus “fake news” and hands Orbán sweeping powers

30.03.2020

Date:
30.03.2020
Number of cases:
1
Regions/Countries:
Hungary
Alert types:
Fake news regulation passed during Covid-19

MPs voted to pass new legislation handing Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán sweeping new powers to rule by decree and tighten his control over the country’s media amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The new law criminalizes the spreading of misinformation deemed to undermine the authorities’ fight against the COVID-19 virus with fines and up to five years in prison.

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