In Hungary, several studies have analysed how migration was framed following the events
of 2015. In this paper, given the distinct characteristics of the Ukrainian refugee
crisis, we investigate whether the Moral Panic Button (MPB) altered its language when
referring to individuals arriving from Ukraine, compared to those from elsewhere.
Content-wise, we raised 2 questions: Is it true that, after the outbreak of the war,
in the framing of pro-government media, the refugee label once again became the majority
term instead of the unofficial migrant, in contrast to the non-MPB-operated non-government
media? Is it true that this shift was somewhat limited due to the continued presence
in Hungary of migration waves, primarily originating from the Middle East and Africa?
To address the research questions, we utilised 2 special datasets comprising articles
and Facebook posts both before and after 24 February 2022. On the one hand, we analysed
the occurrence of the terms ‘migrant’ and ‘refugee’ separately for articles and Facebook
posts, distinguishing between non-governmental and pro-governmental outlets. Additionally,
through sentiment analysis, we sought to investigate the attitudes and emotional responses
associated with key terms related to the war. Our results imply that the pro-government
media in Hungary adapted its labelling and emotional framing of displaced persons
significantly around the outbreak of the Russian–Ukrainian war. Whereas this shift
reflected a rapid and strategic language change in the short term, especially in contrast
to non-government media, the long-term trend shows a gradual return to the earlier
pattern.
