Hungary centralizes health information and pre-selects questions for press conferences
27.04.2020
Date:
27.04.2020
Number of cases:
1
Regions/Countries:
Hungary
Alert types:
Restrictions on access to information: Access restricted to officials / press conferences
The Hungarian government has centralized communications about the pandemic and is filtering the release of information about COVID-19, according to a report by the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union. It says alternative sources of information, especially healthcare workers, are afraid of being fired if they talk to the press, and that the new 鈥淐oronavirus bill鈥� will lead to more self-censorship among journalists. During government press conferences, questions chosen for answering are highly selected, with certain outlets neglected and many sensitive questions unanswered.