Hungary in uproar: Media protests challenge orbán's reign

On Saturday, thousands of people gathered in front of the Hungarian public media headquarters to protest against "an entrenched, taxpayer-funded propaganda network operated by the nationalist government," reports "The Independent". The event was organised by Péter Magyar, leader of the opposition party TISZA, which has become a serious threat to Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, who has been in power for almost 15 years.

According to "The Independent", Magyar, whose party secured nearly 30% of the vote in this year's European Parliament elections, accuses Orbán of promoting a "propaganda factory" ruining Hungarian democracy.

During Saturday's presentation in Budapest, Magyar sharply condemned the government's actions: "What is happening here in Hungary in 2024, and calling itself ‘public service’ media, is a global scandal. Enough of the nastiness, enough of the lies, enough of the propaganda. Our patience has run out. The time for confrontation has come."

Many observers, both in Hungary and abroad, have long warned of the country's threat to press and media freedom. Orbán's government, with the support of businessmen connected to the authorities, is steadily taking over the media, creating a robust pro-government information network.

According to Reporters Without Borders, about 80% of media in Hungary is in pro-government hands. In 2021, Prime Minister Orbán was placed on the list of media "predators," becoming the first leader from the European Union to be included.

Balázs Tömpe, a protest participant, called state media a "factory of lies." He stated, as quoted by "The Independent": "The propaganda goes out at such a level and is so unbalanced that it’s blood boiling, and I think we need to raise our voices. It’s nonsense that only government propaganda comes out in the media that is financed by the taxpayers."

Another protester, retired teacher Ágnes Gera, emphasised that dissenting voices are consistently censored, limiting citizens' access to reliable information. "It’s very burdensome and unfortunate that the system works this way where the public only hears from one side and don’t even know about the other side," she said.

Magyar demanded the resignation of the director of public media and joined numerous voices of opposition criticising the lack of access to the stations for politicians outside the government. He also called on his supporters to participate in another demonstration on 23 October, the day of the Hungarian Revolution (1956), when USSR troops bloodily suppressed protests.