Truth & Consequences

Thousands of people protested outside the headquarters of Hungary’s public media corporation over the weekend to denounce state-controlled media for being a “propaganda factory” for the government of nationalist Prime Minister Viktor Orbán at taxpayers’ expense, the Associated Press reported.

The opposition-led demonstrations demanded the dismantling of the state-controlled media firm and the public media director be fired. Protest organizer and opposition figure Peter Magyar criticized the government-run media for its lies and propaganda, calling it “a global scandal.”

Demonstrators also called for the restoration of genuine public media, legal prohibitions on government propaganda and the resignation of news directors accused of falsifying information.

Since taking power in 2010, Orbán has increasingly cracked down on media freedoms in Hungary. Critics at home and abroad have complained that the ruling Fidesz party has used media buyouts by government-connected business magnates to build a pro-government media empire.

According to Reporters Without Borders, Orbán’s party controls around 80 percent of Hungary’s media market resources. The international group also put the Hungarian leader on its list of media “predators,” the first European Union leader to earn that label.

The long-serving prime minister and his administration have also come under EU scrutiny over alleged attacks on the rule of law and accusations of corruption, Radio Free Europe noted.

Observers said the demonstrations also highlight the increasing prominence of Magyar and his fledgling TISZA party, adding that the opposition figure is posing a serious challenge to Orbán.

TISZA secured nearly 30 percent of the vote in the European Parliament elections this summer and is polling within a few points of Fidesz.