19 Nov 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Hungary, News, United Kingdom
“Remember to always follow BBC standards. If your information cannot be confirmed by two independent sources, don’t publish the article.” This was the advice my first editor-in-chief gave me when I started working as an intern at the foreign desk of Magyar Hírlap, a daily Hungarian newspaper where I began my career.
The same advice was echoed when a few years later, I entered the doors of Hungary’s national public radio. We took “impartiality, accuracy and fairness” seriously. And for us, serving the public as a journalist was not merely a job, it was a vocation.
Having been born in 1980, I have only vague memories of what it was like when state TV and radio were under the control of the Communist Party. Although Hungary was known as the happiest barracks in Soviet times, this of course did not mean that journalists were free to write whatever they wanted. So, when the Iron Curtain fell and journalism became independent, fact-based and public-oriented once again, we needed to adopt guidelines we could look up to. The BBC seemed like a good place to start, as the organisation had a decades-long history of impartial, accurate and fair reporting that we had lacked for some time.
Almost 20 years later, Hungarian public media could not be further away from these principles.
In the aftermath of the 2010 election victory of Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, the Hungarian government initiated a programme of measures designed to exercise control over the media. Utilising a two-thirds majority, the Fidesz party successfully implemented a comprehensive overhaul of Hungary’s media legislation, culminating in the appointment of individuals with strong allegiances to Fidesz within the nation’s media regulatory body. The centralisation of state media, including the national news agency, distributing news to every newsroom in the country free of charge, was of particular significance.
Over the years, more than 1,600 journalists and media workers at the national public media company (MTVA) were fired and replaced with people who would support the government’s story.
By today, Hungary’s public media has effectively been turned into a government mouthpiece.
Human Rights Watch learned from one current and one former employee at M1, a public service television channel under MTVA, that reporters are instructed by their editors on the subjects to be covered, the terminology to be used, and the subjects to be avoided. Should a reporter disagree, they are told to resign. In a leaked audio recording from a 2019 meeting, Balazs Bende, foreign news editor at public service broadcaster M1, can be heard telling staff: “this institution does not support the opposition coalition,” and “we all work accordingly,” and that “anyone who doesn’t like it should resign”.
Public television and radio channels consistently echo the talking points disseminated by Fidesz and a network of think tanks and pollsters that receive funding from the government and the party. In contrast, opposition politicians have long complained that they are allocated a mere five minutes of airtime every four years on public television, the legal minimum, to present their platforms before elections.
It is clear that how public media works has a direct effect on democracy and the rule of law. The government’s control stops people from being able to hold the government to account and stops people from getting information. In Hungary, there are still many people – especially in the countryside – who do not use the internet daily and only watch what the public TV and radio stations have to offer. So, they won’t even know about the corruption scandals exposed by the independent media. If they only hear one side of the story, they won’t be able to make an informed choice when it comes to the elections.
As the example shows, if public media outlets fail to do their job and are unable to resist political pressure, this can have serious consequences for the journalists working there and for society as a whole. This kind of pressure is now common not only in Hungary but throughout the world. So, it is all the more important that established and respected public media outlets – including the BBC – resist political pressure and set an example. If they stick to their own rules and always stand by them, they can’t be undermined.
Conversely, failure to do so will result in the inevitable.
7 Nov 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Hungary, News, Statements
During a one-day mission to Budapest on 22 October 2025, partner organisations of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the safety of journalists met with journalists, media representatives, legal experts and representatives of civil society to discuss key issues affecting media freedom, rule of law and free expression. Stakeholders described a severely restricted media environment within which independent journalism operates, while also highlighting the deep political polarisation shaping the run-up to the expected April 2026 elections.
In the past year, the ruling party Fidesz has maintained the most sophisticated system of media capture and control yet seen within the European Union, constructed through sustained dominance over public media, continued consolidation of private outlets under allied ownership, and persistent distortion of the market through control over state advertising, with severe consequences for media pluralism and independent journalism.
While online harassment against independent media has long been documented in Hungary, including campaigns aimed at representatives of the Platform partners, the polarised and divisive nature of the election campaign has increased the severity and nature of the threats. Multiple stakeholders reported targeted harassment and smear campaigns directed at independent journalists and outlets by representatives and supporters of the two most prominent parties and media outlets deemed friendly to the ruling party, many of which are owned by the Government-linked KESMA foundation. The partners were alarmed by reports that journalists have been smeared online and in the media as being affiliated with opposing political parties in an attempt to discredit them as trusted and independent sources of public interest information.
The partners also sought to assess the impact that the draft bill on the Transparency in Public Life had on the work of journalists, media outlets and civil society. If passed, it would have allowed for the blacklisting, financial restriction and potential closure of media outlets receiving foreign funds, having a deeply chilling effect on media. For those able to remain open, they may be forced into exile to be able to continue reporting. The mission heard that the bill remains shelved, with no current indication Fidesz plans to reintroduce it ahead of the 2026 election.
However, the ruling party’s two-thirds parliamentary majority and recent extension of the state of emergency mean the bill could be passed immediately, without public consultation. Many representatives spoke of the uncertainty this proposed bill caused, as well as the resources expended by many to establish contingency plans to ensure they can continue their vital work. With its reintroduction still a possibility, the bill continues to pose an existential threat to what remains of Hungary’s free press.
The Platform further notes that although the foreign funding bill was withdrawn, the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), the Government office that would be charged with overseeing the proposed law, has spearheaded the attempted delegitimization of media which receive any form of foreign funding or grant, portraying them as foreign agents and traitors. The SPO’s reports have fed wider online harassment and hate against journalists working for these titles online and on social media, including referring to independent journalists as “political pressure groups”. The SPO has also supported campaigns led by the ruling Fidesz party to target journalists and civil society such as the smearing of leading independent outlets and NGOs.
The Platform’s partners are also concerned about the rise of legal harassment directed at journalists and media outlets, including abusive claims based on GDPR regulations or press correction procedures. While we support processes to hold journalists to account and ensure inaccuracies are addressed, we are concerned by reports that this process has been used to target factual if critical reporting. With the capture of Hungary’s courts by the ruling party a persistent issue, such legal harassment can have a disproportionate impact on public interest reporting.
No progress has been made by Hungarian authorities in aligning domestic law with the EU’s European Media Freedom Act (EMFA) since its full entry to effect in August 2025. Those we met confirmed the absence of any engagement with media outlets or civil society towards this goal. Instead, the Hungarian government has presented the regulation as an authoritarian dictat from Brussels and has challenged the EMFA before the European Court of Justice, seeking to have it nullified.
Following revelations about the abuse of zero-click spyware Pegasus against multiple journalists by Hungarian intelligence services in 2021, initial investigations by the prosecutors failed to provide answers and, to date, no individual or authority has been held responsible for these attacks on journalistic privacy and source protection. Unjustified national security justifications have been used to shield the responsible state institutions from accountability, resulting in a state of impunity.
Beyond such surveillance, the partners also discussed the threat of Distributed Denial of Service (DDOS) attacks, a form of digital censorship which left the websites of more than 40 different media offline for several hours after a spate of attacks in recent years. Although police arrested an individual they claim is responsible earlier this year, it is unclear when they will face trial and questions remain over whether the cyber-attacks were carried out with external coordination and resources.
The Platform partners note that after the mission ended, the Hungarian portfolio of Ringier, a Swiss media company, which includes the most popular tabloid, Blikk, was purchased by Indamedia, a pro-government media group. The acquisition, made ahead of next year’s election, is yet another example of the consolidation of media under ownership of private business interests close to the government and looks likely to further erode media pluralism in Hungary ahead of the vote.
Despite severe pressures on media freedom, quality and independent journalism continues to exist in Hungary and a cohort of outlets maintain a strong commitment to fact-based, public interest reporting. This is reinforced by high-levels of public support, which has translated to significant subscription funding and solidarity when an outlet is targeted. However, these outlets continue to face sustained economic, political and legal challenges and their foothold remains extremely fragile.
The platform delegation included representatives from the Platform secretariat, ARTICLE 19, Committee to Protect Journalists, European Broadcasting Union, European Centre for Press and Media Freedom, European Federation of Journalists, Index on Censorship, International Federation of Journalists, International Press Institute and Reporters Without Borders.
Prior to the commencement of the mission, partners reached out to organise meetings with the Prime Minister and the SPO. On behalf of the Prime Minister, Zoltan Kovacs confirmed that he was unavailable to meet due to prior commitments, while the partners never received a response from the SPO.
Signed by:
Index on Censorship
ARTICLE 19
International Press Institute (IPI)
European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)
Justice for Journalists Foundation
Committee to Protect Journalists
European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)
Rory Peck Trust
Association of European Journalists (AEJ)
PEN International
International Federation of Journalists (IFJ)
Reporters Without Borders (RSF)
2 Jun 2025 | Europe and Central Asia, Hungary, News, Newsletters
The European Convention on Human Rights was set up in the aftermath of World War Two to protect the rights of people in the Council of Europe’s 47 member states. Enshrined within it are fundamental obligations around free speech, including the right to free expression and the right to protest. It was intended to act as a blueprint for democracy and a rules-based order – but certain member states are tearing up this rulebook, none more so than Viktor Orbán’s Hungary, and seemingly getting away with it.
In recent years, Orbán has intensified his crackdown on democratic principles, including eroding academic freedoms and increasing hostility towards the media. In April, Orbán even decided to withdraw Hungary from the International Criminal Court – a pan-global organisation set up to uphold the rule of law and hold those charged with the gravest war crimes accountable.
The LGBTQ+ community has been particularly targeted in Hungary, with laws passed abolishing the legal recognition of transgender people in 2020 and banning the depiction of homosexuality to under-18s in 2021. A recent escalation is a law banning Pride marches, introduced in March, under the guise that such gatherings are harmful to children. At the time, Orbán said: “We won’t let woke ideology endanger our kids.”
Hungary’s parliament has since passed a series of other amendments tightening the government’s grip on those seeking to attend Pride, which will allow authorities to use facial recognition technology to identify people at events, and potentially fine them up to 200,000 Hungarian forint (HUF), the equivalent of $560. Protests have erupted across Hungary since the law was passed, and thousands are expected to turn out in defiance at Budapest Pride on 28 June.
Meanwhile, other draft legislation is making its way through parliament that is reminiscent of Russia’s “foreign agent” law – the Transparency of Public Life bill, if passed, would allow the government to penalise and ban dissenting voices and critics deemed detrimental to Hungary’s national interests, including the press and NGOs.
Hungary’s recent actions not only contravene the ECHR, but also the European Union’s (EU) policies around democracy and human rights, as laid out in its treaties and the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, of which its 27 member states are meant to abide by.
But the political tide appears to be turning. Hungary is clearly moving further and further away from the fundamental values of the EU, and many member countries are growing frustrated with the Central European state, and with the European Commission for not taking strong enough action.
This week, 17 EU countries, including France, Germany, Ireland and Spain, signed a declaration expressing their concerns and dismay over Hungary’s anti-Pride law. They have called on Orbán to revise it, and have asked the European Commission to take legal action against Hungary if it does not do so.
Michael McGrath, the EU commissioner responsible for democracy, said this week the “willingness is there” to take action against Hungary, and that a “comprehensive analysis of the relevant legislation is underway now”.
But so far, retribution for Hungary’s actions has been negligible. The European Council has discussed Hungary’s rule of law violations seven times in the European Parliament since 2018, but has never taken the next step in the process, which would allow member states to vote on sanctions against Hungary.
There have been some financial penalties, but relations between the EU and Hungary are likely complicated by the need for cooperation against Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. In December 2022, the European Commission froze €30 billion ($34 billion) in funds to Hungary, after the country’s failure to address concerns around democracy and the rule of law; a year later, a third of these funds were unfrozen, with speculation that Orbán was threatening to impede the EU’s actions in supporting Ukraine.
Patience with Hungary amongst EU nations appears to be wearing thin. The question is: how long will Orbán’s impunity be allowed to continue, and what example does this set for other EU countries wishing to replicate his methods?
1 Apr 2022 | Hungary, News, Uncategorized
LGBTQI rights. Gender equality. Media freedom. The fate of liberties in Hungary hang in the balance as the nation heads to the polls on Sunday. With a falling currency, a mismanaged response to the pandemic still fresh to mind and a stronger opposition under United For Hungary – a coalition of six parties spanning the political spectrum – the election campaign has been the closest in years. But the war in Ukraine, right on Hungary’s border, has changed its course in unexpected ways. Below we’ve picked the most important things to consider when it comes to the April 2022 elections.
Basic rights could worsen
Since his election in 2010, Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban has whittled away fundamental rights in the country to the extent that Hungarian activist Dora Papp told Index in 2019 free expression had no more space “to worsen”.
Orban’s main targets have been people who identify as LGBTQI. Last year, amid global outcry, he passed a law that bans the dissemination of content in schools deemed to promote homosexuality and gender change. Seeking approval for this legislation, Hungary is holding a referendum on sexual orientation workshops in schools this Sunday alongside the parliamentary elections.
Orban also takes aim at the nation’s Roma and immigrants, and has revived old anti-Semitic tropes in his attacks on George Soros, a Hungarian-born Jewish philanthropist who Orban claims is plotting to flood the country with migrants (an accusation Soros firmly denies).
As for half of the population, Orban’s macho-style leadership manifests in rhetoric on women that is dismissive, insulting and focuses on traditional roles. Asked in 2015 why there were no women in his cabinet, he replied that few women could deal with the stress of politics. That’s just one example. The list goes on.
His populist politics have seeped into every democratic institution and effectively dismantled them. The constitution, the judiciary and municipal councils have all been reorganised to serve the interests of Orban. Education, both higher and lower, has seen huge levels of interference. Progressive teachers and classes have been removed. Even the Billy Elliot musical was cancelled after Orban called the show a propaganda tool for homosexuality.
But the media can’t freely report much of this
In response to claims of media-freedom erosion, the Hungarian government likes to point out that there are no journalists in jail in Hungary, nor have any been murdered on Orban’s watch. But as we know only too well there are many ways to cook an egg. Through gaining control of public media, concentrating private media in the hands of Orban allies and creating a hostile environment for the remaining independent media (think misinformation laws and constant insults), the attacks come from every other angle. Orban has even been accused of using Pegasus, the invasive spyware behind the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi, to target investigative journalists.
It’s little wonder then that in 2021 Reporters Without Borders labelled Orban a “press freedom predator”, the only one to make the list from the EU.
As election day approaches the attacks continue. In February, for example, pro-government daily Magyar Nemzet said it had obtained recordings showing that NGOs linked to Soros were “manipulating” international press coverage of Hungary, a claim instantly rejected by civil society groups.
Ukraine War has shifted the narrative, for better and worse
Given Orban’s track-record on rights, it comes as no surprise that he’s the closest EU ally of Vladimir Putin. This wasn’t a great look before 24 February and it’s even less so today, as the opposition are keen to highlight. They are pushing Orban hard on his neutral stance, which has seen him simultaneously open Hungary’s borders to Ukrainian refugees and oppose sanctions and the sending of weapons.
But Orban is playing his hand well. Fears of becoming embroiled in the war appear to be stronger in Hungary than anger at Putin’s aggression, many analysts says. Orban is claiming a vote for him is a vote for stability and neutrality, while a vote for the opposition is a vote for war. He’s even tried to cast his February visit to Moscow as a “peace mission”.
And though he has condemned the invasion, he has yet to say anything bad about Putin himself. Worse still, Hungarian media is blasting out Russian propaganda. Pundits, TV stations and print outlets are pushing out lines like the war was caused by NATO’s aggressive acts toward Russia, Russian troops have occupied Ukraine’s nuclear plants to protect them and the Ukrainian government is full of Nazis.
Anything else?
Yes. Orban met with a coalition of Europe’s far-right in Spain at the start of the year. They discussed the possibility of a Europe-wide alliance. What that looks like now in a post-Ukraine world is hard to tell. We’d rather not see.
Then there’s the fact that Serbia also goes to the polls Sunday. Like Orban, the ruling Serbian Progressive Party (SNS), led by president Aleksandar Vučić, has been unnerved by growing opposition. Also like Orban, they’re close to Putin and using the Ukraine war to their advantage – reminding people of the 1999 Kosovo war when NATO launched a three-month air strike. Orban and Vučić have developed close ties and will no doubt be buoyed up by each other’s victories should that happen on Sunday.
So will the Hungary elections be free and fair?
If the 2018 elections are anything to go by, they will be “free but not fair”, the conclusion of the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE), who partially monitored the 2018 election process. That’s the optimistic take. Others are fearful they will be neither free nor fair, so much so that a grassroots civic initiative called 20K22 has recruited more than 20,000 ballot counters – two for each of Hungary’s voting precincts – to be stationed at polling centres on election day with the aim of stopping any voting irregularities.
News from yesterday isn’t confidence-boosting either. Hungarian election officials reported a suspected case of voter fraud to the police. Bags full of completed ballots were found at a rubbish dump in north-western Romania, home to a large Hungarian minority who have the right to vote in Hungary’s elections. Images and videos shared by the opposition featured partially burnt ballots marked to support them. As of writing, no details have been provided of the actual perpetrators and their motives, and Orban has been quick to accuse the opposition of being behind the incident. Either way, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth.
