"Before Donald Trump's return to the presidency, I warned of Orbanisation in reference to Hungary's authoritarian leader Viktor Orban. There, democracy was not extinguished by firing squads or the mass imprisonment of dissidents, but by slow attrition. The electoral system was warped, civil society was targeted and pro-Orban moguls quietly absorbed the media. Nine months on, and Orbanisation is in full bloom across the Atlantic."
"Billionaire Larry Ellison, the Oracle co-founder, and his filmmaker son, David, have become blunt instruments in this process. Trump boasts they are friends of mine they're big supporters of mine. Larry Ellison, second only to Elon Musk as the world's richest man, has poured tens of millions into Republican coffers. Shortly after the 2020 election, he joined a call that discussed challenging the legitimacy of the vote. His son, David, has a history of backing Democrats but at one time, so did Trump, his daughter Ivanka and his son-in-law Jared Kushner."
US democratic institutions face gradual erosion through tactics mirroring Hungary's Viktor Orban: electoral manipulation, attacks on civil society, and media consolidation by friendly moguls. Billionaire Larry Ellison and his son David have become central to this process, with Larry donating large sums to Republicans and joining a post-2020 call about challenging the vote. David Ellison's Skydance Media acquired Paramount Global with his father's backing, giving control over CBS News. Ownership changes prompted a Trump-appointed ombudsman and Bari Weiss's appointment as editor-in-chief, signaling closer alignment between media leadership and pro-Trump interests.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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