The leader of Hungary’s largest opposition party, Péter Magyar, organized a protest in Budapest on Saturday at the headquarters of the country’s public broadcaster (MTVA) against the government’s influence over media in Hungary.
The organizers, including many followers of Magyar’s Tisza party, played an audio recording and a documentary which alleged that journalists were threatened with being fired if they did not publish what the government wanted. Magyar claimed that in addition to MTVA, several members of the public media including TV2, Mandiner, and the newspapers KESMA/Mediaworksv are publishing “propaganda.” The protestors demanded fair, unbiased information and opportunities for opposition parties to speak.
Media freedom and independence in Hungary has declined under the rule of the current governing party Fidesz since Prime Minister Orbán returned to power in 2010, according to international observers. After winning the election, Fidesz made a significant change to the law, creating a single authority to monitor the media and enforce media laws. Thousands of journalists were also dismissed from the MTVA. This has been criticized as interference with media freedom and being part of a systematic attack on the rule of law in Hungary.
Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), and Article 11 of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, state that media freedom and independence must be protected. Since Hungary is a party to these legal documents, it has international obligations to protect and enhance media independence and freedom. Irene Khan, the UN expert on freedom of opinion and expression also called on the government “to safeguard editorial freedom, access to diverse sources of information [and] enhance the independence of regulatory bodies.”
According to Reporters Without Borders (RSF), the government controls 80 percent of the country’s media through the ownership of individuals closely associated with Fidesz. Furthermore, the Sovereignty Protection Authority, a new regulatory body established under Hungary’s National Sovereignty Protection Act, has the power to collect information regarding financing and activities from any independent private media outlet and launch investigations. The law does not prescribe legal remedies against its decisions, resulting in a risk that the government may use it as a tool to suppress its political rivals.
In June 2024, the research institute Political Capital, the fact-checking site Lakmusz, and the media watchdog Mertek Media Monitor released a joint report which found that the ruling party spend far more on advertisements during elections then all 15 opposition parties combined and that 98% misinformation came from Fidesz.
At the end of the demonstration, Magyar announced another protest that will take place in late October.
