The Why Project
← Antisemitism

Viktor Orbán

Prime Minister of Hungary

Broad consensus

Ran a “puppet-master” poster campaign against George Soros.

What happened

A government campaign of billboards and ads depicting Hungarian-Jewish financier George Soros as a grinning puppet-master “laughing” at Hungarians — widely read as trafficking in the hidden-Jewish-power trope.

Under each definition

The Soros trope is antisemitic under all three general definitions; his alignment with Israel’s government means the 3D test is irrelevant.
IHRAIHRA Working Definition
Antisemitic

Example 2: the Soros “puppet-master” imagery is the hidden-Jewish-power conspiracy.

JDAJerusalem Declaration
Antisemitic

Guideline 4: the Rothschild→Soros coded trope, named directly.

NexusNexus Document
Antisemitic

Conspiratorial antisemitism; Orbán’s pro-Israel alignment doesn’t change the content.

3D testSharansky’s 3D Test
N/A

Not criticism of Israel — if anything, the opposite.

Who called it antisemitic

Hungary’s Jewish community (Mazsihisz), the World Jewish Congress, the Israeli ambassador, and the ADL.

The defense

Orbán denied antisemitism, pointing to close ties with Israel’s government and to security at home; he framed the campaign as about migration policy, not Jews.

Outcome

International condemnation; the campaigns continued and became a template copied by politicians elsewhere.

In their words

Called it antisemitic
The billboard campaign, while not openly anti-Semitic, can still very much unleash uncontrolled anti-Semitic and other feelings. This poisonous message hurts all of Hungary.
András HeislerPresident, Federation of Hungarian Jewish Communities (Mazsihisz)JTA
Called it antisemitic
At the moment, beyond political criticism of a certain person, the campaign not only evokes sad memories but also sows hatred and fear.
Yossi AmraniIsraeli Ambassador to HungaryJTA
Defended it
This matter is not about George Soros’ ancestry or identity but about what he does.
János LázárChief of Staff to PM Viktor OrbánAssociated Press

The verdicts above are how each framework would most likely treat this case — illustrative guidance, not official rulings. The 3D test applies only to Israel-related cases, so it reads “N/A” elsewhere. See the Definition tab for each framework’s full text. Inclusion is documentation, not a finding.