Morality Combinations: Moral Language in the News Media Coverage of the Ukrainian War at the Time of the 2022 Hungarian Parliamentary Election Campaign

This chapter explores moral emotional language in Hungarian news media coverage of the Ukrainian war during the 2022 parliamentary election campaign. The invasion altered election discourse, focusing on Hungary’s response to the conflict. Research suggests war projections onto domestic affairs generate moral statements. Media serve as moral compasses, framing discussions in moral terms. The chapter analyses whether online news moralises the war’s impact on Hungarian affairs. Deductive content analysis of leading websites supporting and opposing the government reveals frequent references to moral responsibility and emotions like shame and guilt. Three moralising combinations are identified: deontic and consequentialist morality with guilt and shame, and moralising combined with flaunting. The study sheds light on media’s role in framing conflict politics in moral terms.