What is considered racist inciting content?

Last updated: 1 July 2024

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Illustration: racist hateful content

Images, videos or text published online are considered racist/hateful if they are inciting hatred towards a community on the basis of nationality, race, religion, disability or sexual orientation.

Racist/xenophobic content means messages conveyed on websites or by email that are offensive towards a religion, religious denomination or ethnic group or incite hatred, discrimination or violence against them or members of such groups. It includes inciting hatred towards members of a group based on their disability, identity or sexual orientation and depicting prohibited totalitarian symbols, for example a swastika, on websites.

Act C of 2012 on the Criminal Code

Incitement Against a Community

Section 332

Any person who before the public at large incites violence or hatred against:

a) the Hungarian nation;

b) any national, ethnic, racial or religious group or any member thereof; or

c) certain societal groups, or the members thereof, in particular on the grounds of disability, gender identity or sexual orientation;

is guilty of a felony punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years.

Open Denial of Nazi Crimes and Communist Crimes 

Section 333

Any person who denies before the public large the crime of genocide and other crimes committed against humanity by nazi and communist regimes, or expresses any doubt or implies that it is insignificant, or attempts to justify them is guilty of felony punishable by imprisonment not exceeding three years.

Use of Symbols of Totalitarianism

Section 335

Any person who:

a) distributes,

b) uses before the public at large, or

c) publicly exhibits,

the swastika, the insignia of the SS, the arrow cross, the sickle and hammer, the five-pointed red star or any symbol depicting the above so as to breach public peace - specifically in a way to offend the dignity of victims of totalitarian regimes and their right to sanctity - is guilty of a misdemeanor punishable by custodial arrest, insofar as the did not result in a more serious criminal offense.