Hungary's media crackdown silences dissent ahead of pivotal election
A Hushed Urgency at HVG Before Hungary's Election
The open-plan newsroom of Hungarian magazine HVG is eerily quiet on this Wednesday morning. Screens glow, phones ring, but few lift their heads. Everyone is deep in work—it's just before deadline for the latest issue, and only weeks remain until Hungary's parliamentary election on April 12.
Yet András Földes, 55, makes time for a conversation. A veteran reporter, he has witnessed the erosion of Hungary's media landscape from within. He was among the journalists who, in 2020, collectively resigned from Index—then the country's largest independent outlet—to launch Telex, a new platform. That story is now the subject of his documentary, currently screening in Hungary.
In 2022, Földes joined HVG, founded in 1979 under socialism. Today, it stands as one of the last major independent media outlets in Hungary. The weekly covers economics, politics, and culture, often drawing comparisons to the British Economist.
Critical journalism has become a rarity in Viktor Orbán's Hungary. Nearly all media now fall under state control. Antal Rogán, Orbán's cabinet chief, has funneled billions in public funds into pro-government outlets over the years. Independent publishers have been bought out, editorial teams replaced with figureheads, and advertising revenues cut off.
Propaganda by App
Then there's what Földes calls the "propaganda ecosystem": billboard campaigns funded by NGOs with no formal ties to Fidesz, and state messaging pushed directly to citizens' phones via the official tax app. The system is inescapable. "If people don't analyze this content critically," Földes warns, "they'll eventually start believing it."
Currently, the reporter is filming a video series in rural pubs. What he hears alarms him. He describes "kind, decent people" who say they'll vote for Fidesz out of fear of war. Who would attack Hungary? The Russians? The Ukrainians? They don't know. The message has landed, but the context has not, Földes explains: "In the last election, the line was: Without Fidesz, migrants will come and rape your daughters. I heard that verbatim from people in villages where not a single migrant has ever set foot."
His own work, he says, has barely changed under the pressure. "The pressure never comes directly. No bans, no phone calls," Földes notes. Instead, ownership structures shift behind the scenes. Editors-in-chief are forced out. Advertisers suddenly pull campaigns after behind-the-scenes government pressure.
András Arató, the 72-year-old owner of Klubrádió, knows this pressure well. The engineer-turned-entrepreneur bought the station in 2001, frustrated by state propaganda radio, and transformed it into Hungary's only independent broadcaster.
A Digital-Only Lifeline
Based in Budapest, Klubrádió lost its FM frequency in 2021—officially over two late administrative filings. The European Court of Justice recently ruled the move illegal, finding Hungary's media law in breach of EU regulations. Yet the decision has had no practical effect. "The Hungarian state won't change its law," Arató says. "And we certainly won't get a response from the media authority before the election." Still, he adds, "It's a major moral victory: We were right."
The station now broadcasts solely online, reaching 150,000 to 200,000 daily listeners—more than in its FM days. Twice a year, it runs fundraising drives, sustained by 12,000 to 15,000 supporters who keep it alive.
The precarious situation facing independent media is underscored by Hungary's sovereignty law, which took effect at the end of 2023. Under its provisions, any outlet receiving even a single cent from abroad can be labeled a "foreign agent"—with no right of appeal. Klubrádio, a prominent independent station, was placed on a preliminary list by the newly created authority after it once received support from the U.S. Embassy. Though no charges were ultimately brought, the threat looms constantly.
Last week, the risks for individual journalists became starkly clear. Szabolcs Panyi, an investigative reporter for Direkt36 and Vsquare, had been probing Hungarian-Russian ties when he published a leaked transcript of a 2020 phone call between Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó and his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov. In the recording, Szijjártó requests Moscow's help in arranging a visit for Slovak politician Peter Pellegrini—a move intended to boost his election campaign. Rather than investigating the revelations, Budapest launched a smear campaign against Panyi, with government spokesman Zoltán Kovács branding him a "foreign agent."
What does the election outcome mean for independent journalism? Polls have long placed Péter Magyar in the lead, and even skeptics like Földes and Arató now see a real chance of unseating Orbán—though they remain wary of Magyar. "He doesn't hesitate to attack media outlets when coverage turns critical," Földes notes. The founder of Klubrádio shares this caution: "I'll vote for Magyar, but he'll have to earn my trust."
Cautious Optimism
One thing is certain: even in opposition, Fidesz would remain a formidable force, with Orbán loyalists entrenched in key institutions. That makes Hungary's remaining independent media all the more vital. HVG, for instance, has a more stable footing, diversifying revenue through book sales and events alongside journalism.
Földes puts the odds of a change in power at 50-50—a near-euphoric prospect for Hungarian journalists after 16 years under Orbán. Yet another concern weighs on outlets that rely almost entirely on reader donations: that support may wane once Fidesz is gone, as people breathe a sigh of relief and assume the fight is over. That assumption, however, would be dangerously premature.
