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Dec 1, 20204 min read

Why is press freedom deteriorating in Hungary?

By: Annika Hesse


Over the past 10 years, Hungary’s press freedom has been slowly deteriorating. The group at fault is the far-right Fidesz Hungarian Civic Alliance party, led by Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, which has come to dominate politics on a local and state level since its landslide victory in 2010. The government has consolidated its control over the media by gradually eliminating independent TV stations, newspapers, and any other source of information. A country that has dropped from 56th place to 89th place in less than 7 years on the World Press Freedom Index warrants attention from other EU states, but the European community has yet to take action.


The near-total consolidation of the media in the hands of government allies started accelerating in 2016. That year, a major left-leaning newspaper, Népszabadság, was shut down overnight in a hostile maneuver, and its publisher sold the newspaper to Lőrinc Mészáros, a gasfitter-turned-oligarch and childhood friend of Orbán. Afterward, Mészáros began building a media empire through the direct or indirect acquisition of television channels, dailies, weeklies, online media, and all of Hungary’s regional newspapers. The last domestically-owned independent TV company in Hungary, Hir TV, was turned upside down on August 1, 2018, by the sudden takeover of Mészáros, resulting in dismissals of outspoken leading journalists and an abrupt change of editorial policy. Government-friendly programs replaced previous ones reflecting independent views. In late 2018, Mészáros and the other government-friendly businessmen who had also taken over independently owned media sources gave up their holdings and offered all acquired outlets for free to KESMA, a pro-government media conglomerate. Currently, KESMA unifies more than 400 media products and exhibits in plain sight the astonishing domination of government-friendly media in Hungary.

A number of recent isolated incidents show how press freedom is on the decline in Hungary as well. In January 2020, the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union (HCLU) reported that independent media sources were barred without a legitimate reason from covering Orban’s annual press conference. Additionally, an investigation in February conducted by Politico found that many journalists need to obtain special approval from their editors to cover specific topics like climate activist Greta Thunberg and immigration, both very controversial topics in Europe at the moment. The coverage of leading human rights organizations like Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch is also prohibited.

Furthermore, journalists in Hungary face continuous attacks and intimidation daily. Smear campaigns brand them as “Hungary-haters” or “foreign agents”. Female journalists in particular are subject to worse treatment. The International Press Institute (IPI) documented various incidents of harassment toward female journalists. In one case, Rebeka Kulcsar, a journalist with 444, was subjected to bullying, sexual violence, as well as public shaming when her picture was posted online. Phrases like “you stupid b***h” and “I’m going to rape you” were commented on her picture. Because of this harassment, many female journalists have chosen to leave their bylines off of their stories. These acts, although not endorsed by the government, aim to suppress freedom of expression and have a frightening effect on journalists.

Like most other countries, Hungary acted quickly to draw up legislation to contain the deadly virus sweeping across the globe; however, their legislation looked different from that of other European countries. Their “Bill on the Protection Against Coronavirus” suspended parliament, mandated that no elections take place, and allowed Orbán the authority to rule by decree, giving Orbán a questionable amount of power indefinitely. Most shockingly, the bill makes distributing false facts in such a way that it obstructs or frustrates the effectiveness of the government’s response to the pandemic punishable by a term of imprisonment between one to five years. What is considered obstructive is not clearly defined in the bill, so technically, the Hungarian government has the authority to imprison anyone who reports any information that the government deems false.


The most recent event signaling the deterioration of press freedom in Hungary was the firing of Szabolcs Dull, the editor in chief of Hungary’s largest independent news website, Index. Months before his dismissal on July 22, a businessman close to Orban named Miklos Vaszily bought a 50 percent stake in the company that controls Index revenue and stream. In June, Dull had warned that the independence of the media outlet was in danger and that Index’s future operation depended on editorial independence and lack of third-party interference in staffing decisions. Laszlo Bodolai, the chairman of the foundation that controls the website, claims that Dull was fired due to his inability to calm internal tensions as well as low ad revenue, and he denied any threat to Index’s independence. A day after his firing, journalists unanimously voted to reinstate him, but, unsurprisingly, Bodolai firmly rejected the proposal. In response, three journalists have resigned and many more are expected to follow.


Dull’s dismissal highlights the importance and urgency for EU action to stop the Hungarian government from taking over independent media outlets by proxy. Reporters Without Borders stated that the level of media control in Hungary was “unprecedented in an EU member state”. Although the European Parliament invoked an article in 2018 to initiate action when EU member governments put the EU’s values such as free speech at risk, little has been done to aid Hungarian media outlets in their fight for freedom of expression.


In May, the vice president of the EU commission, Vera Jourova, voiced her support for Hungary, but, unfortunately, that’s all she did. A reporter from Human Rights Watch has criticized Jourova saying that “Jourova should put her words into action and if the EU Commission is serious about protecting common values in member states, it needs to step up its efforts to ensure that Hungarian journalists can do their work without political pressure or editorial influence.” The phrase “actions speak louder than words” is certainly applicable in this situation. While sentiments of solidarity are consoling at times, in this case, Hungary needs the EU to step up and take action. Otherwise, Hungary is at risk of losing one of the core values on which the EU is based.


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