Kuruc.info is a

far-right Far-right politics, also referred to as the extreme right or right-wing extremism, are political beliefs and actions further to the right of the left–right political spectrum than the standard political right, particularly in terms of being ...

Hungarian language Hungarian () is an Uralic language spoken in Hungary and parts of several neighbouring countries. It is the official language of Hungary and one of the 24 official languages of the European Union. Outside Hungary, it is also spoken by Hungarian ...

online portal registered in

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

, affiliated with politician

Előd Novák Előd Novák (born 25 April 1980) is a Politics of Hungary, Hungarian politician. He was one of the deputy chairmen of the far-right political party, Jobbik. His wife is Dóra Dúró, a former spokesperson for the party. After the 2010 Hungari ...

. The website often harbours extreme

anti-semitic Antisemitism (also spelled anti-semitism or anti-Semitism) is hostility to, prejudice towards, or discrimination against Jews. A person who holds such positions is called an antisemite. Antisemitism is considered to be a form of racism. Antis ...

sentiments, including frequent Holocaust denial, and frequently publishes

anti-Romani Anti-Romani sentiment (also antigypsyism, anti-Romanyism, Romaphobia, or Antiziganism) is hostility, prejudice, discrimination or racism which is specifically directed at Romani people (Roma, Sinti, Iberian Kale, Kale (Welsh Roma), Welsh Kale, ...

and homophobic content.

History

The first iteration of the website, kettosallampolgarsag.hu, was created to support the

2004 Hungarian dual citizenship referendum A two-part referendum was held in Hungary on 5 December 2004.Dieter Nohlen Dieter Nohlen (born 6 November 1939) is a German academic and political scientist. He currently holds the position of Emeritus Professor of Political Science in the F ...

. The website then illegally published personal information about publicist Imre Para-Kovács. As the website's focus broadened, and its traffic kept growing even after the referendum had ended, its editors decided to start Kuruc.info on 01 February 2006, named after the " Kuruc", the rebels against the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy (german: Habsburgermonarchie, ), also known as the Danubian monarchy (german: Donaumonarchie, ), or Habsburg Empire (german: Habsburgerreich, ), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities ...

who fought for Hungarian independence between 1671 and 1711.Molnár, V. (2016) Civil society, radicalism and the rediscovery of mythic nationalism. Nations and Nationalism, 22: 165–185. doi: 10.1111/nana.12126. Until 2019, Kuruc.info's staff was anonymous, and the website was registered in the name of a private individual, first in Scottsdale, Arizona, then Healdsburg, California. The website first gained notoriety for its "more

SZDSZ The Alliance of Free Democrats – Hungarian Liberal Party ( hu, Szabad Demokraták Szövetsége – a Magyar Liberális Párt, SZDSZ) was a liberal political party in Hungary. The SZDSZ was a member of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrat ...

, more

paedophiles Pedophilia ( alternatively spelt paedophilia) is a psychiatric disorder in which an adult or older adolescent experiences a primary or exclusive sexual attraction to prepubescent children. Although girls typically begin the process of puberty a ...

" campaign before the

2006 Hungarian parliamentary election Parliamentary elections were held in Hungary on 9 April 2006, with a second round of voting in 110 of the 176 single-member constituencies on 23 April. Dieter Nohlen & Philip Stöver (2010) ''Elections in Europe: A data handbook'', p 900 The ...

, which was also closely affiliated with the newly formed Jobbik party. In 2006, Kuruc.info also posted photographs, addresses, and phone numbers of judges and prosecutors who had participated in legal proceedings against anti-government protestors. Several of the officials whose details were posted received threatening phone calls and letters. After this, the website still routinely published the personal data of individuals they opposed. In 2008, the web servers of Kuruc.info were shut down after requests from the Hungarian government. However, the website quickly came back online. In 2012, the Hungarian government requested the American government to shut the website down again without success. Around the same time, it was revealed that the website was registered under the name of Bela Varga, a winemaker from Healdsburg, California who denied his involvement with the website, claiming that he registered it for a friend. Although Kuruc.info was heavily associated with the Jobbik political party in its early days, it became increasingly critical of the party around 2016, mainly due to Jobbik's drift toward a more centre-right ideology, which was strongly opposed by the website's owner and previous Jobbik vice president

This split, as well as the emergence of other right-wing websites such as 888.hu and Pesti Srácok saw the website's popularity decline, dropping from the 34th most popular Hungarian website to 96th in the span of 4 years. After years of denying his involvement with Kuruc.info, Előd Novák revealed his ownership of the website in 2019, as well as the involvement of ex-journalist József Hering, ex- MIÉP politician Tamás Esze, and publicist János Lantos.

Political ideology

Kuruc.info considers itself to be more right-wing than the far-right Hungarian political party known as the Jobbik, distinguishing itself from '' Barikád'', which is regarded as Jobbik's "semi-official online news organ". Kuruc.info nevertheless maintains a relationship with Jobbik through advertisements and payment to personnel. Categories on the site include "anti-Hungarianism", "Gypsy-crime", "Jewish crime", "migrant crime", "economic news", where there is more discussion of the economic crimes of Jews and communists, and a "humor" section where one can find derogatory jokes about Jews,

Romani Romani may refer to: Ethnicities * Romani people, an ethnic group of Northern Indian origin, living dispersed in Europe, the Americas and Asia ** Romani genocide, under Nazi rule * Romani language, any of several Indo-Aryan languages of the Roma ...

, and communists. Users engage in commentary about the website's publications and maintain an active site forum.

References

External links

* {{Authority control Alt-right websites 2006 establishments in the United States 2006 establishments in California Anti-communism in Hungary Anti-communism in the United States Antiziganism in Hungary Antiziganism in the United States Antisemitism in Hungary Antisemitism in the United States European American culture in California Fascism in Hungary Far-right politics in Hungary Holocaust-denying websites Hungarian-American culture Hungarian political websites Internet properties established in 2006