Zsolt Bayer Explained

Zsolt Bayer
Birth Place:Budapest, Hungary
Occupation:Journalist
Party:Fidesz

Zsolt Bayer (born 26 February 1963) is a Hungarian far-right and pro-Russian journalist, whose views have been widely described as racist,[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] homophobic and transphobic,[7] and antisemitic.[8] He was a co-founder of the ruling Fidesz party and close confidant of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.[9] He is the owner of party membership card No. 5.[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, and commented that many gypsies are "animals... unfit to live among people" and "potential murderers [who] should not exist."[14] [15] [16] The article generated negative reactions in Hungary and throughout Europe. 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. 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] 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.

In early 2024 historian Krisztián Ungváry published his findings that Bayer's grandfather Károly Gyimes, whom Bayer previously portrayed as someone who saved Jews during the Holocaust, was in fact an active member of the Arrow Cross Party before and during World War II, and later he was an informant for the State Protection Authority.[23] Bayer has been well-known for attacking his political opponents for having parents or grandparents who supported the Communist regime. Bayer declared that he did not know about his grandfather's past.[24]

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.[25]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 24 August 2016. Hungary gives award to writer fined for racism . 21 May 2022 . Politico. Hortense. Goulard . en-US.
  2. Web site: 23 August 2016. Award for 'racist' journalist in Hungary sparks protests . 21 May 2022 . . . en.
  3. News: 2016-08-25 . Hungarians return awards over 'racist' journalist . en-GB . BBC News. Paula. Kennedy . 21 May 2022.
  4. Web site: Karáth . Kata . All of a sudden, nobody wants one of Hungary's highest national honors . 21 May 2022 . Quartz . 9 September 2016 . en.
  5. Web site: Racist article on Roma by a founder member of Fidesz . 21 May 2022 . www.europarl.europa.eu . en.
  6. Web site: Garamvolgyi . Flora . Borger . Julian . 21 May 2022 . Trump shares CPAC Hungary platform with notorious racist and antisemite . 22 May 2022 . . en.
  7. Web site: Viktor Orban’s war on LGBT+ people in Hungary. Felix. Schlagwein. 2020-05-21 . 2023-12-23 . dw.com . en.
  8. News: Forman. Ira N.. Hungarian journalist leveled an antisemitic attack on Antony Blinken . 28 May 2021. 21 May 2022. The Jerusalem Post. JTA. en-US.
  9. Web site: What's wrong with the West? Everything. Eva S.. Balogh. 23 April 2019. Hungarian Spectrum. 3 December 2020.
  10. Web site: Zsolt. Bayer. 4 May 2010. Magánügy. 4 February 2024. Magyar Hírlap.hu. hu.
  11. News: Hungary under fire over award for 'hate-filled xenophobe'. Daniel. McLaughlin. The Irish Times. 7 September 2016. 3 December 2020.
  12. News: 29 August 2016 . Journalist repeatedly fined for anti-Semitic, racist comments given major Hungarian award . . 3 December 2020.
  13. News: Weinthal. Benjamin. Anti-Jewish tirades at Hungarian newspaper provoke outrage. The Jerusalem Post. 5 August 2011. 22 May 2022.
  14. Web site: Ki ne legyen?. Zsolt. Bayer . Magyar Hírlap. 5 January 2013. 21 August 2016. hu. https://web.archive.org/web/20130107011609/http://www.magyarhirlap.hu/ki-ne-legyen . 7 January 2013 . dead .
  15. Web site: Deutsche Welle. Moving right in Hungary. 3 December 2020.
  16. Web site: Der Spiegel. Blurring Boundaries: Hungarian Leader Adopts Policies of Far-Right. Keno. Verseck. 30 January 2013. 3 December 2020.
  17. Web site: Negyedmillióra büntette Bayer írása miatt a Magyar Hírlapot a Médiatanács. HVG. 8 May 2013. 3 December 2020. hu.
  18. Web site: Pope Francis and his Hungarian critics. Eva S.. Balogh. Hungarian Spectrum. August 13, 2016. 3 December 2020.
  19. Web site: Orbán deploys Christianity with a twist to tighten grip in Hungary. Shaun. Walker. July 14, 2019. The Guardian. 3 December 2020.
  20. Web site: Márk. Herczeg. 2020-11-15. Átírta a Magyar Nemzet Bayer Zsolt tabutörőnek szánt, rasszista szövegét. 2020-11-17. 444. hu.
  21. Web site: László. Szily. 2020-12-04. "Ennek a kockázatát harminc éve tudja mindenki a Jóskával kapcsolatban". 2020-12-04. 444. hu.
  22. Web site: In the Midst of an Election, Hungarian State-Linked Media Pushes pro-Kremlin Narratives Surrounding the Invasion of Ukraine . 2022-05-21 . ISD . en-GB.
  23. Web site: 2024-01-28 . Ungváry Krisztián: Bayer Zsolt nyilas nagyapja tanította be a hüvelyi motozást a kiskőrösi gettóban . 2024-01-29 . telex. Zsolt. Sarkadi . hu.
  24. Web site: Zsolt . Bayer . 2024-01-29 . Bayer Zsolt: Válasz Ungváry Krisztiánnak . 2024-01-29 . Magyar Nemzet . hu.
  25. News: Hungary award returned after 'racist' writer honoured . 8 February 2022 . BBC News . 4 September 2016.

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