Hungarian public service media has suspended its news service; they are apologizing for the lies of recent years.

Today, in collaboration with @mertekmonitor.bsky.social, the Lab issued a report documenting how media capture and targeted pressure work together to narrow the space for independent journalism in Hungary. It proposes recommendations for countering this repression. www.law.nyu.edu/rule-law-lab...

Lessons from the Hungarian campaign 4 months before the election campaign: fake-profile network full with AI-generated contents distribute pro-government messages on Facebook.

Young, attractive, fans of football, Orbán and relationship drama: inside the most sophisticated pro-Fidesz fake-profile network on Facebook

We identified a network of nearly one hundred Facebook profiles whose members live in an AI generated reality and systematically spread content that supports the governing party.

lakmusz.hu

Media freedom organizations called on the European Board for Media Services (Media Board) – the independent EU advisory body established by the EMFA – to initiate an advisory opinion on the takeover of Ringier publisher in Hungary and its negative impact on media freedom.

Hungary: New EU Media Board should assess Blikk acquisition by pro-government media group – ipi.media

The International Press Institute (IPI) today joins media freedom partners in raising alarm about the recent acquisition of Hungary’s most-read tabloid newspaper by a pro-government media group and ca...

ipi.media

The same story happened in 1993, but what a difference between the two decisions and the two era!

"Ringier, which owned Glamour’s Hungarian edition and numerous other women’s magazines as well as Blikk, had received an offer it could not refuse from a pro-Orbán group called Indamedia" - important piece from Ivan Zsolt Nagy, former editor-in-chief of Blikk. #Hungary

Viktor Orbán’s Hail Mary.

I was editor in chief of Hungary’s most-read independent daily until a pro-government media network bought the newspaper. It’s the fifth time in thirty years that politics has cost me my job—and it’s ...

cjr.org

#Hungary: Stakeholders met during a recent @coemediafreedom.bsky.social mission described a severely restricted media environment within which independent journalism operates, while also highlighting the deep political polarisation shaping the run-up to the 2026 elections. More findings ⤵️

Hungary: Independent journalism operates in a severely restricted media environment

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ) joins partners of the Council of Europe’s Platform for the safety of journalists in outlining our support ...

europeanjournalists.org

Ringier was the last big international investor in the Hungarian print publishing market and it sold its portfolio on last Friday. Background from @floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social in @theguardian.com

Flora Garamvolgyi@floragaramvolgyi.bsky.social · 9mo ago

For more than a decade now Hungary has served as a model for other “illiberal democracies” around the world. Donald Trump and his allies have long praised Orbán’s Hungary even as it plunges in press freedom rankings. - My piece from Budapest. www.theguardian.com/world/2025/n...

Our new paper has been published in @cogitatiomac.bsky.social. The paper is about Megafon which is a Hungarian political influencer group, a typical example for state sponsored disinfo.

Outsourced Political Campaign: Role of Pro-Government Political Influencers in Spreading Hostile Narratives in Hungary | Article | Media and Communication

Kata Horváth, Gábor Polyák, Ágnes Urbán

cogitatiopress.com

The Hungarian government constantly talks about sovereignty, while the Hungarian ‘public service’ media cooperates with Chinese state propaganda.

Hungarian public media’s close cooperation with key Chinese media revealed after Átlátszó successfully sues for contracts – English

Hungarian public media has promised extremely close cooperation to its Chinese partners in several contracts.

english.atlatszo.hu

27 EU member states mean 27 policy environments to deal with #disinformation . On top of that, there is the EU policy that applies in all member states. We had a country-by-country look in this EDMO report. edmo.eu/wp-content/u...

🇭🇺#Hungary: A 'foreign agent'-style bill which would allow blacklisting, financial restriction & closure of media receiving foreign funds poses a severe threat to independent journalism & #pressfreedom & should be condemned and challenged under EU law👇 buff.ly/LZjBYFF

Hungary: Foreign funding bill poses most serious threat to independent media in years – ipi.media

A newly introduced bill which would allow for the blacklisting, financial restriction and potential closure of media outlets and civil society organisations receiving foreign funds poses a severe…

ipi.media

"Democracy, public participation and social action do not threaten Hungary's sovereignty - rather the government threatens Hungarian democracy" - joint statement of Hungarian civil society organizations and independent media outlets

No Country Was Built On Blacklists — Civilizáció

joint statement of independent civil society organisations and media outlets 14 May 2025 - The draft law submitted by the ruling party on Tuesday is nothing but an authoritarian attempt to hold on to...

civilizacio.net

"Viktor Orbán’s government is being accused of handing more than €1bn in unlawful subsidies to pro-government media (...)" A new complaint has been submitted to DG COMP regarding the market-distorting effect of state advertising. 1/2 on.ft.com/4lOTeLB

Hungary accused of illegal subsidies for pro-government media

Viktor Orbán faces scrutiny over his tightening grip on critical voices

on.ft.com

Agnes Urban, director of Mertek Media Monitor published a paper about the Hungarian media capture (The Restructuring of the Hungarian Media System). The pdf is downloadable. cjssp.uni-corvinus.hu/index.php/cj...

HDMO, the Hungarian member of the @edmo-eu.bsky.social hub has a conference today in Budapest with full house. Fight against disinformation is really an issue here.

Innovation Fair in Budapest for local media sustainability. Brilliant event organized by Center for Sustainable Media and @mediadiversity.bsky.social, supported by @ec.europa.eu. With @erdelyip.bsky.social

HDMO, the Hungarian member of @edmo-eu.bsky.social is organising a conference on the project's achievements so far and on further possible tools to combat disinformation. The event will take place in Budapest on April 2. politicalcapital.hu/news.php?art...

The Future of Disinformation – (Geo)political, Technological Trends and Countermeasures’

Conference

politicalcapital.hu

💥 Viktor Orbán’s intelligence agency is compiling a blacklist of so-called foreign agents, NGOs, and media outlets that received support from the US and the EU—whom Orbán has labeled "stink bugs" and vowed to "eliminate." 🍲This and more scoops in @vsquare.bsky.social's latest Goulash newsletter.

Goulash: Blacklist Compiled by Orbán’s Intelligence Agency; Russia's Meddling in Germany - VSquare.org

The far-right is rising in Poland, while Viktor Orbán has been turning up the heat on his own radical agenda in Hungary—seasoning his rule with yet another alarming far-right shift. Our main scoop thi...

vsquare.org

"The Dynasty" documentary of @direkt36.bsky.social has just reached 3.5 million views. The film shows how Viktor Orbán's family became billionaires over the past three decades. English subtitle is available. www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ4S...

A dinasztia (The Dynasty) - így született az Orbán család gazdasági birodalma

YouTube video by Direkt36

youtube.com

🤯After Viktor Orbán called his opponents “stink bugs” and talked of getting rid of them, news site Telex asked President of Hungary Tamás Sulyok to comment. In response, the president’s comms director labeled Telex journalists "degenerates" / "defects" and posted a photo of a stink bug. Seriously.

#Hungary: IPI today warns of a looming crackdown by the government on independent media, in the wake of recent incendiary comments by PM Orbán in which he vowed to eliminate all media outlets & other organisations that have received foreign funding.

Hungary: IPI warns of fresh crackdown on independent media

The International Press Institute (IPI) today warns of a looming crackdown by the Hungarian government on independent media in the country, in the wake of recent incendiary comments by Prime Minister…

buff.ly

"Already reeling from the impact of the huge funding cut resulting from the USAID freeze, it is unclear where civil society organizations and independent media across Central and Eastern Europe go from here."

Daniel Hegedus@danielhegedus.bsky.social · last yr.

Great article by @tgoscee.bsky.social on the growing suppression of #CivilSociety in #Hungary #Slovakia #Serbia & how changes in the Transatlantic space catalyze it, with quotes from @milanninberlin.bsky.social & yours truly. @deutschewelle.bsky.social www.dw.com/en/civil-soc...

Good summary of how Sovereignty Protection Office targeted investigative journalism center Átlátszó and the anti-corruption organization Transparency International Hungary.

Easter Purge? Orbán Sets Deadline to Crush Independent Media and Civil Society - VSquare.org

Since coming to power in 2010, Orbán has gradually yet systematically restricted the space for independent voices, largely following the Russian model. With Donald Trump taking office and U.S. funding...

vsquare.org