Government accused of plotting against opposition media

A left-wing commentator thinks that the new ‘fake news bill’ will add to the troubles of the non-government-sponsored media. A right-wing author argues that the bill simply meets the requirements of a nationwide health emergency.

On Mérce, Bence Bogatin fears that the independent media may not survive the coronavirus epidemic. Ads are disappearing from their surfaces and publishers have started cutting expenditures. To make things worse, he continues, a new bill envisages prison sentences of up to 5 years for those who spread false information that may jeopardise the fight against the epidemic. This may be used against the critical media, he fears.

On Pesti Srácok, Ervin Nagy dismisses that claim. He explains that the existing law on spreading false or alarmist information only refers to local disasters and to the areas hit by them. The new legislation, therefore, has become necessary to confront the current pandemic, he asserts.

Tags: coronavirus, media