Zsolt Bayer
Zsolt Bayer in 2007
Born
Budapest, Hungary
NationalityHungarian
OccupationJournalist
Political partyFidesz

Zsolt Bayer (born 26 February 1963) is a Hungarian far-right[1] and pro-Russian journalist, whose views have been widely described as racist,[2][3][4][5][6][1] homophobic and transphobic,[7] and antisemitic.[8][1] He was a co-founder of the ruling Fidesz party and close confidant of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.[9] He is the owner of the No. 5 party membership book.[10]

Bayer has worked for media outlets such as Magyar Nemzet and Magyar Hírlap. In 2016, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit.[11][12]

Views and incidents

In a 2011 article for Magyar Hírlap, Bayer referred to Jews as "stinking excrement called something like Cohen". The previous year, he said the Hungarian Academy of Science had been affected by Jewish infiltration. In the Austrian daily Die Presse, the journalist Karl Pfeifer described Bayer as a "fecal anti-Semite" in an article published during 2011.[13]

In 2013, Bayer wrote an opinion piece for Magyar Hírlap referring to the killings of Marian Cozma and Gergely Sávoly, where Roma were suspected of involvement,[14] and commented that many gypsies are "animals... unfit to live among people" and "potential murderers [who] should not exist."[15][16][14] The article generated negative reactions in Hungary and throughout Europe.[16][14] A Fidesz spokeswoman said that Bayer's views were his own, while Fidesz communications chief Máté Kocsis said critics of Bayer's article were "siding with" Roma murderers.[14] The Hungarian Media Authority fined the journal 250,000 forints and ordered the content removed from the Internet.[17] Bayer said in 2016 that Pope Francis was “either a senile old fool or a scoundrel” for his pro-refugee sentiments.[18][19]

In a November 2020 opinion article in Magyar Nemzet titled "Breaking the Taboo", Bayer called black criminals "niggers". The article was later censored by Magyar Nemzet.[20]

In December 2020, Bayer said on HírTV that an "old friend and comrade" admitted to him two decades ago that he liked to go to Thailand "because young boys were also available", indicating Bayer had knowledge about sexual abuse of minors. There is no record showing that Bayer ever reported this to the relevant authorities.[21]

Bayer at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary.

In 2022, he promoted pro-Russian views during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[22] He was one of the speakers at the 2022 Conservative Political Action Conference in Hungary.[1]

Award

In August 2016, he was awarded the Knight's Cross of the Hungarian Order of Merit for his writing by Prime Minister Orbán. By early September, 100 previous recipients of Hungarian state awards, among them president of the Lantos Foundation, Katrina Swett, returned them in protest at the decision to honour Bayer.[23][3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Garamvolgyi, Flora; Borger, Julian (21 May 2022). "Trump shares CPAC Hungary platform with notorious racist and antisemite". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  2. ↑ "Hungary gives award to writer fined for racism". Politico. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  3. 1 2 "Award for 'racist' journalist in Hungary sparks protests". The Guardian. Agence France-Presse. 23 August 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  4. ↑ "Hungarians return awards over 'racist' journalist". BBC News. 25 August 2016. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  5. ↑ Karáth, Kata (9 September 2016). "All of a sudden, nobody wants one of Hungary's highest national honors". Quartz. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  6. ↑ "Racist article on Roma by a founder member of Fidesz". www.europarl.europa.eu. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  7. ↑ "Viktor Orban's war on LGBT+ people in Hungary – DW – 05/21/2020". dw.com. Retrieved 23 December 2023.
  8. ↑ Forman, Ira N. (28 May 2021). "Hungarian journalist leveled an antisemitic attack on Antony Blinken". The Jerusalem Post. JTA. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  9. ↑ Balogh, Eva S. (23 April 2019). "What's wrong with the West? Everything". Hungarian Spectrum. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  10. ↑ Zsolt, Kácsor (5 May 2010). "Fideszes selyemzsinór és az ötös számú párttagkönyv". NOL.hu (in Hungarian). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  11. ↑ McLaughlin, Daniel (7 September 2016). "Hungary under fire over award for 'hate-filled xenophobe'". The Irish Times. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  12. ↑ "Journalist repeatedly fined for anti-Semitic, racist comments given major Hungarian award". National Post. 29 August 2016. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  13. ↑ Weinthal, Benjamin (5 August 2011). "Anti-Jewish tirades at Hungarian newspaper provoke outrage". The Jerusalem Post. Retrieved 22 May 2022.
  14. 1 2 3 4 Verseck, Keno (30 January 2013). "Blurring Boundaries: Hungarian Leader Adopts Policies of Far-Right". Der Spiegel. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  15. ↑ Bayer, Zsolt (5 January 2013). "Ki ne legyen?". Magyar Hírlap (in Hungarian). Archived from the original on 7 January 2013. Retrieved 21 August 2016.
  16. 1 2 "Moving right in Hungary". Deutsche Welle. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  17. ↑ "Negyedmillióra büntette Bayer írása miatt a Magyar Hírlapot a Médiatanács". HVG (in Hungarian). 8 May 2013. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  18. ↑ Balogh, Eva S. (13 August 2016). "Pope Francis and his Hungarian critics". Hungarian Spectrum. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  19. ↑ Walker, Shaun (14 July 2019). "Orbán deploys Christianity with a twist to tighten grip in Hungary". The Guardian. Retrieved 3 December 2020.
  20. ↑ Márk, Herczeg (15 November 2020). "Átírta a Magyar Nemzet Bayer Zsolt tabutörőnek szánt, rasszista szövegét". 444 (in Hungarian). Retrieved 17 November 2020.
  21. ↑ László, Szily (4 December 2020). ""Ennek a kockázatát harminc éve tudja mindenki a Jóskával kapcsolatban"". 444 (in Hungarian). Retrieved 4 December 2020.
  22. ↑ "In the Midst of an Election, Hungarian State-Linked Media Pushes pro-Kremlin Narratives Surrounding the Invasion of Ukraine". ISD. Retrieved 21 May 2022.
  23. ↑ "Hungary award returned after 'racist' writer honoured". BBC News. 4 September 2016. Retrieved 8 February 2022.
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