The Institute for Strategic Dialogue (ISD) published a report documenting misogynistic rhetoric in the Hungarian-language segment of TikTok. ISD’s analysis, among the first such studies focusing on online gender-based violence in Hungarian, identified 46 TikTok accounts spreading harmful content as “relationship advice” and reaching a substantial portion of more than 3 million Hungarian speakers on TikTok. 

Overview

TikTok is an integral part of daily life for many young people, offering a broad range of content including life advice. However, ISD has identified misogynistic rhetoric in Hungarian-language love and relationship advice, a phenomenon previously observed in other languages. Content creators were found to normalise behaviours such as stalking and violence in relationships. They also often employed misogynistic tactics including slut-shaming, demonising women and perpetuating harmful gender stereotypes. Such content risks endangering the physical safety and mental health of women exposed to it. Harmful content can be hard to identify as some anti-feminist creators use humour or personal stories to present misogynistic advice. Our analysis is among the first to examine online gender-based violence (OGBV) in Hungarian, highlighting the critical need to study and address hate and gender-based discrimination in less widely spoken languages.