Abstract
In this paper, we analyse the production, circulation and operation of narratives and the frames and themes of migration discourse through a case study in a bid to understand the role which the moral panic button (MPB) plays in creating simultaneous crisis- and fear-mongering campaigns against enemies (in our case, with the Soros phenomenon at the core) that are declared to be an existential threat to the ‘Nation’. We argue that the creation and fine-tuning of the MPB is a crucial aspect of building the Hungarian version of informational autocracy (IA), i.e., a non-democratic regime in which the capture of the media and professional control of information are the central elements of the de-democratisation process and of maintaining in executive power.
Keywords
Moral panic button, Informational autocracy, Soros phenomenon, Migration discourse, Fearmongering