“The Hungarians Have Decided: They Do Not Want Illegal Migrants” Media Representation of the Hungarian Governmental Anti-immigration Campaign

Absztrakt

Hungary faced a great influx of asylum seekers during 2015. As response to that the Hungarian government launched a controversial anti-immigration campaign, which consisted of two main elements: the National Consultation on Immigration and Terrorism and a connected billboard campaign. In this essay I have analysed this campaign and its mainstream media representation, which crucially shaped the perception of migration and asylum issues in Hungary. First, I will present those discourses, in which this campaign and the related media coverage could be positioned. Secondly, by applying quantitative and qualitative media investigation techniques and critical discourse analysis I will show that the media reflect the polarized nature of the Hungarian society and the various media outlets construct significantly different understandings of these cases. Furthermore, this case study is also able to reveal some media practices of misrepresentation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.