On Saturday, the management of Népszabadság suspended all operations of Hungary’s leading left-wing daily. A left-wing columnist accuses the government of being behind the owners’ decision, while pro-government commentators accept their explanation that they wanted to cut losses. READ MORE
Two conservative commentators criticize the EU for abandoning its core principles and trusting its security to Turkey. A left-wing columnist, on the other hand, hopes that the lifting of the Turkish visa requirement will strengthen democrats in Turkey without compromising the EU’s security. READ MORE
As a Facebook commenter is sentenced to pay a high fine or go to prison for Holocaust denial, commentators wonder whether sanctioning hate speech makes sense as a means of fighting anti-Semitism. READ MORE
As Hungary celebrates the anniversary of the 1848 revolution, commentators both on Right and Left call for national unity and accuse each other of further polarizing the nation. READ MORE
As a Court rules against the anti-Semitic and anti-Roma website kuruc.info, a liberal blogger calls the legal ban of Holocaust denial counterproductive. A left-wing lawyer criticizes the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (TASZ) for offering legal help to the radical website. READ MORE
Commentators across the political spectrum try to assess the long-term consequences of the Charlie Hebdo massacre. Among other issues, they dispute whether free speech can or should ever be constrained in order to protect religious sensibilities and avert fundamentalist violence. READ MORE
Left-wing journalists contend that the Charlie Hebdo murders should be interpreted as an act against free speech. A conservative columnist suggests that journalists should show more caution and abstain from provoking radicals through publishing tasteless content that can be interpreted as blasphemy. READ MORE
Two conservative columnists accuse The New York Times of bias for deciding not to publish an interview with Imre Kertész Nobel prize winning novelist who dismissed the idea that Hungary was a dictatorship. READ MORE
A centrist blog finds it controversial that the US and American intellectuals like to accuse the Hungarian government of curbing democracy, but at the same time do not mind if a racist organization holds a conference in a Washington government building. READ MORE
A left-wing columnist accuses the government of introducing censorship through a selective media advertisement tax. A pro-government commentator, on the other hand, welcomes the taxation of commercial media outlets with little added social value. READ MORE