Overview

• Metropol published a photo spread in its June 4 issue under the headline “The shorter, the better,” featuring photos of women in short skirts taken without their consent.
• The series appeared in its recurring “Take a photo and send it in!” reader-submission column, which has faced criticism for targeting vulnerable groups.
• Around 50 to 60 demonstrators rallied outside Mediaworks’ Budapest office on June 4, chanting slogans like “Harassment is not journalism” and “My body is not an object.”
• Social media users decried the spread as invasive and objectifying, likening it to gender-based harassment.
• As of June 5, Metropol has not responded to the backlash, renewing criticism of its links to Hungary’s ruling government.