A/73/305 of men and enforces rigid gender roles, denying wo men and others full agency, especially over their reproductive and sexual rights. Non-conforming women become a target for populist nationalists, who in some cases carry out misogynist online and other attacks against these women. Nationalist populist ferv our in some parts of the world has also advanced a backlash against equal rights for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LGBTQI) persons in ways that deny their inherent human dignity and entitlement to full enjoyment of human rights. A comprehensive racial equality analysis of nationalist populism must keep sight of the ways that multiple intersecting social identities transform the experience of racial discrimination in this context, as they do in others. It must also keep sight of th e ways that States use patriarchal, gender-discriminatory laws to achieve racial, ethnic and religious exclusion, as canvassed in this mandate’s most recent report to the Human Rights Council. 14 14. There is reason to believe that new forms of media have aided or amplified the influence of nationalist populism, and leaders of these movements have been especially successful at exploiting new media technology (including social media) for their benefit. Research has highlighted, for example, the role of increa singly diversified media that focus more on sensationalism, which is a communication style favoured by populists. 15 The provocative nature of nationalist populist leaders is appealing in media industries structured around sensationalism and the reporting of scandalous news, in order to increase readership. Even as nationalist populists have profited from media, however, they have been characteristically repressive of free and independent media. Media outlets that are critical of populist leaders are often described by populists as agents of the corrupt “elite” or outsiders, accused of producing “fake news”, and may even face the risk of being prevented from operating, as discussed below. 15. Rightly, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, has taken a bold stand, publicly denouncing a number of populist leaders who have been willing to stoke racism, xenophobia and related intolerance with little regard for the human rights of many within the borders of their countries: Nor bert Hofer (Austria), Miloš Zeman (Czechia), Marine Le Pen (France), Viktor Orbán (Hungary), Geert Wilders (Netherlands), Robert Fico (Slovakia), Nigel Farage (United Kingdom) and Donald Trump (United States), among others. 16 The High Commissioner’s response to the Prime Minister of Hungary in particular illustrates the false claims that often lie at the heart of nationalist populist demagoguery. In February 2018, Prime Minister Orbán made a statement before a group of city councils in which he said that “we do not want our colour … to be mixed in with others”. 17 The High Commissioner noted that the latest census in Hungary, which has a total population of just under 10 million, 18 indicates that 1,064 men and 260 women from Africa, a total of 10,559 people from all of Asia, and too few from the Middle East to even be counted live in Hungary. Yet Prime Minister Orbán has managed to portray Muslims and Africans as an existential menace to Hungarian culture. Denouncing the racist and xenophobic lies of populist nationalists remains an urgent priority. __________________ 14 15 16 17 18 18-12945 Ibid. Benjamin Moffit, The Global Rise of Populism: Performance, Political Style and Representation (Stanford, California, Stanford University Press, 2016). “Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, “Zeid warns against populists and demagogues in Europe and the United States ”, statement to the Peace, Justice and Security Foundation gala, The Hague, 5 September 2016. OHCHR, “Hungary: opinion editorial by United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein”, available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx? NewsID=22765. See www.ksh.hu/nepszamlalas/?lang=en. 7/22