Information Patterns and News Bubbles in Hungary

Abstract

The study is based on data from a representative survey conducted in Hungary in 2020, which examined the public’s consumption of political and public information. Using the survey data, the authors attempt to map the consumption patterns of the Hungarian audience, with a special focus on the relationship between party preferences and the consumption of the various news sources with different ideological backgrounds. The research aims to better understand the phenomenon of polarisation, which is increasingly observed on both the supply and demand sides of the Hungarian news media. The focus of the study is to examine news consumption patterns in Hungary and the relationship between political polarisation and news consumption. The authors analysed the prevalence of information bubbles in the Hungarian public sphere, where consumers are only exposed to the views of one political side without being confronted with information or opinions that differ. Particular attention is paid to a special category of the Hungarian media system, the grey-zone media; they might seem to contribute greatly to the pluralism of the media system, but they are, in fact, strongly politically dependent. In addition to the identified news consumption patterns, the study aims to shed light on the importance and problematic nature of this grey-zone media category and to reveal how deeply the Hungarian public is actually dependent on the government.