Dead Kennedys Accuse Viktor Orbán's Circle of Plain Theft
The Civil Cooperation Forum (CÖF), a civil organization closely aligned with Fidesz, has blatantly infringed on the copyright of the world-renowned American punk band Dead Kennedys and their photographer.
Members of the Dead Kennedys are unanimously accusing "people from Viktor Orbán’s circle" of theft after it was discovered that CÖF used an iconic 1980 photograph of the famous American punk group for their latest poster campaign aimed at discrediting the opposition. In the original photo, band members donned shirts with dollar signs spray-painted on them. In CÖF's posters, these dollar signs were depicted on politicians from the so-called "dollar-left," including András Fekete-Győr, Ferenc Gyurcsány, Gergely Karácsony, and Péter Márki-Zay, as pejoratively labeled by the Orbán government.
The issue first came to light last Wednesday when Jello Biafra, former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys, was the first to speak out. Journalist László Seres asked him whether the Orbán government had sought permission to use the photo. Biafra's response was emphatic: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention! NO, we did not give permission for this spooky wannabe dictator Viktor Orbán or his party to use it!!! Why would any of us support his couch-fascist regime in any way? Yes, they have definitely violated both the DK's and the photographer FStop Fitzgerald's copyright.” FStop Fitzgerald, a renowned photographer and publisher whose work has appeared in 12 volumes, has collaborated with Stephen King and Ken Follett.
Subsequently, news outlet 444 reached out to two other members of the Dead Kennedys, guitarist East Bay Ray and bassist Klaus Flouride. Ray, through his agent, stated: “No, this photo was stolen from the Dead Kennedys and the photographer FStop Fitzgerald by the people in the power-hungry, crazy right-wing Orbán camp. If they steal from us, they will undoubtedly steal from the Hungarian people too. For example, food to avoid poisoning. AI content must indicate whose work they pilfered for the ingredients.” Flouride added: “Nothing good and everything bad in Orbán and his brutal policy. We support his opposition and are angry that they chose to plagiarize Fitzgerald’s pictures. We wanted nothing to do with this. Full stop.”
Ironically, the Orbán government and CÖF, which pride themselves on conservatism, ended up plagiarizing a punk band's photo. As previously reported, CÖF had spent 30 million forints on the poster campaign until last week.
The issue first came to light last Wednesday when Jello Biafra, former lead singer of the Dead Kennedys, was the first to speak out. Journalist László Seres asked him whether the Orbán government had sought permission to use the photo. Biafra's response was emphatic: “Thank you for bringing this to my attention! NO, we did not give permission for this spooky wannabe dictator Viktor Orbán or his party to use it!!! Why would any of us support his couch-fascist regime in any way? Yes, they have definitely violated both the DK's and the photographer FStop Fitzgerald's copyright.” FStop Fitzgerald, a renowned photographer and publisher whose work has appeared in 12 volumes, has collaborated with Stephen King and Ken Follett.
Subsequently, news outlet 444 reached out to two other members of the Dead Kennedys, guitarist East Bay Ray and bassist Klaus Flouride. Ray, through his agent, stated: “No, this photo was stolen from the Dead Kennedys and the photographer FStop Fitzgerald by the people in the power-hungry, crazy right-wing Orbán camp. If they steal from us, they will undoubtedly steal from the Hungarian people too. For example, food to avoid poisoning. AI content must indicate whose work they pilfered for the ingredients.” Flouride added: “Nothing good and everything bad in Orbán and his brutal policy. We support his opposition and are angry that they chose to plagiarize Fitzgerald’s pictures. We wanted nothing to do with this. Full stop.”
Ironically, the Orbán government and CÖF, which pride themselves on conservatism, ended up plagiarizing a punk band's photo. As previously reported, CÖF had spent 30 million forints on the poster campaign until last week.
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Translated by AI
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