Media column – Elections in Hungary: 80% of media vote for Orban

Contrary to Vladimir Poutine, Viktor Orban does not imprison or assassinate journalists. In Hungaryfreedom of expression remains formally preserved, and this is the main difference with the Russia. However, fundamentally, the methods used to control the media present worrying similarities. Independent news outlets are becoming rare in the country, where nearly 80% of the media landscape is now under government control, according to Reporters Without Borders. This control is exercised in two ways: directly, through a takeover of public broadcasting, put in place upon Orban’s return to power in 2010, and indirectly, through the intermediary of oligarchs close to his party, Fidesz.

Among them, Miklos Vaszily, who last year bought one of the country’s largest popular newspapers, the tabloid Glance. Via his Indamedia group, this businessman had already taken control, in 2020, of the independent site Index. Before their acquisition, these two media outlets were still investigating corruption cases involving those in power. Miklos Vaszily also plays a central role within the Kesma foundation, a pro-government structure which brings together some 500 media outlets, either acquired or joined.

How does Viktor Orban manage to block the Hungarian media landscape to this extent? The process is based first on the appointment of loyalists to key positions in public media. The latter then relay government propaganda, whether pro-Russian positions on the war in Ukraine or criticism against a European Union presented as favorable to migrants. Another lever: the drying up of advertising revenue. The state and government-influenced companies are encouraged to stop investing in critical media, depriving them of vital resources. The site Index was thus forced to change hands.

The future of independent media in Hungary seems to hang on the results of the next elections

The government does not hesitate to use more radical methods either. In 2021, independent radio Club radio had its frequency withdrawn, a decision condemned by the European Court of Justice. Furthermore, a “sovereignty protection authority” was created to harass and discredit dissenting voices. These pressures are part of a broader strategy of muzzling the press, which is reminiscent of the authoritarian methods observed elsewhere.

The future of independent media in Hungary now seems to hang on the results of the next elections. Hungarian Voicethe country’s second political weekly, has already announced its intention to go into exile, like the Russian media critical of the Kremlin, if Viktor Orban wins a fifth consecutive mandate. Such a victory, considered likely according to polls, could trigger a real “vendetta” against dissident newspapers. Last February, the Hungarian Prime Minister had indeed promised to “do the housework” and to attack the “journalists sold à l’influence étrangère HAS”. Words reminiscent of those of Vladimir Putin against the “ foreign agents » or those of Donald Trump calling journalists “corrupted » and d’«Âenemies of the people ”.

Viktor Orban, who openly admires these two leaders, has the tools to go even further in repression. Hungary is in fact the only European state to have acquired the Pegasus spyware, used to monitor journalists’ sources and intimidate them. A drift which alarms defenders of press freedom, while the country sinks a little deeper into a model where information is tightly controlled.

Also readElections in Hungary: the campaign marked by suspicions of foreign interference in favor of Orban