From the editorial board: Orbanów Hungary plans to attack the media again. Political criticism works with an independent 444 portal, we have published texts by authors from Telex or Magyar Hang. We support each another and present we are solidarity with colleagues from independent media in Hungary.
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On 15 May before the Hungarian Parliament, a completely fresh 1 happened: the 5 largest independent editorial offices – 24.hu, Telex, HVG.hu, Partizán and 444 – together organized Live transmission in protest against the alleged Transparency of Public Life Act, the draft of which was submitted in Parliament. Media journalists, who compete with each another on a regular basis, jointly conducted a fewer hours of discussion – in an atmosphere of shock, but at the same time with energy and will to fight, due to the fact that the minute was historical importance.
The bill, which the day before was submitted by 1 of the Fidesz parliamentarians, is an unprecedented effort to restrict freedom of expression and association in Hungary. Moreover, it poses a direct threat to the functioning of the fewer independent press bodies that inactive exist.
On Saturday 18 May before Parliament, they demonstrated against the bill between 30 and 40,000 people. However, specified a reaction of the public does not convince the ruling majority, which prepares arbitrary voting on changes in law – without real political debate or consultation with experts, that is, as has been the case in Hungary for 15 years.
The amendment, modelled on the Russian abroad Agents Act, gives peculiar powers to the Authority for Sovereignty (SPO), which was created by the government a year and a half ago. So far this body has been utilized by the authorities mainly for communication purposes: to give the impression that various forces – globalists and abroad powers from Brussels to Kiev – are constantly trying to interfere with the interior affairs of the Hungarian government. Now the office is expected to receive new, serious competences: under the law, it will prepare for the government a list of organisations it considers to be “a threat to Hungarian sovereignty”.
What precisely does that mean? The list may include any organisation or editorial board that engages in public activities and accepts funding, grants or even gifts from any individual who is not a Hungarian citizen. This may include grants from EU institutions, individuals or people with dual citizenship. In order to be regarded as a threat to Hungary's sovereignty, it is adequate to express a political opinion which "represents in a negative light the independent, democratic and constitutional nature of Hungary" or questions "the primacy of marriage, household and biological sex" or "the constitutional identity and Christian culture of Hungary".
The bill was intentionally written in specified a way that it could be interpreted differently. It is about the freezing effect: to make uncertainty in organisations, media groups, among journalists and all those who support them, and to force self-censorship on them. The sowing of specified existential fear is simply a method that the ruling for 15 years has successfully applied.
As for who gets on the list, the government leaves no doubt. The Authority for Sovereignty, led by the individual eavesdropper Orbán Tamás Lánczi, has been publishing “research materials” (actually Pashquile) for months, and has campaigned against any editorials in the form of paid ads on YouTube, Facebook and another platforms since the beginning of 2025. The Authority encourages subscribers and subscribers who support media projects not to give money to journalists due to the fact that they are “swindlers” who receive millions of dollars from abroad. specified accusations are completely false, due to the fact that these editorial offices only receive tiny private donations from abroad, have many Hungarian subscribers surviving abroad and run global projects financed by the European Union and from another grants.
If the bill enters into force, the organisations on the list of the Authority for Sovereignty will not be able to receive support from taxpayers (each payer in Hungary can transfer 1% of its taxes to non-profit organisations), donors will gotta make statements on the granting of support, and the boards of these organisations will gotta make statements on their wealth. Organisations on the list will be closely monitored by the authorities, and advanced penalties (25 times the amount received) will be threatened for accepting an unauthorized grant. taxation authorities will be able to review their papers and computers and search their premises. Anyone who does not comply with the regulations must be threatened to be banned. A decision to list an organisation will not be subject to appeal.
This is the reality in Hungary present erstwhile it comes to freedom of speech.
Since the beginning of the year Viktor Orbán has been making increasingly absurd accusations against citizens and independent press. He claims that they have war propaganda, which is part of a conspiracy controlled from Brussels or Kiev. The strike had already announced much earlier: first, erstwhile he promised to “ sweep up” those who service abroad interests and later in a speech of March 15, comparing their national political opponents to worms that he would shortly trample.
At the first rally after the publication of the fresh legislation, he confirmed his intentions: “Whoever is in politics should not be getting money from abroad! It's not an excessive demand, alternatively simple, modest. And we will not bow to this."
The bill to be adopted shortly is possibly the last phase of a long and deliberate war, due to the fact that the editorial offices in Hungary have been under constant force for years. Government and government media systematically provoke and discredit independent media workers, and decision forward by presenting reporters as salesmen and traitors serving abroad interests. Last year's law on the protection of sovereignty allows the reflection of "public people" (including journalists) without the request to indicate any suspicions and without the consent of the courts. However, the authorities did not hesitate to follow journalists even before. During the celebrated Pegasus software scandal, it turned out that an Israeli spy program was installed on the phones of a number of investigative journalists who exposed corruption in the government.
For 15 years Orbán He's fighting hard. with the last bastions of the free press. He was gaining ground step by step. He first bought the media and frightened off abroad investors, then requisitioned the media market, monopolizing the advertisements and advertisements purchased by the state. For 10 years, critical media had not received a penny, while the government dominated public media: from the largest independent news portals (Index, Origo) Orbán's squad made pro-government propaganda tubes, bought local newspapers, came into possession of the largest tv channel (TV2), paid for entering the tabloid market, closed “Népszabadság” [one of the largest and most opinion-making newspapers in Hungary that operated until 2016 – ed.] and took influence even over any opposition media.
Investors close to government circles appeared in all areas of the media market, besides behind the scenes of advertising agencies and media houses. In this way, power took control not only of the public announcement strategy but besides of a crucial part of the advertising marketplace as a whole. At the same time, companies close to Orbán began to play a decisive function among advertisers in strategical areas specified as banking, telecommunications and energy. These editorials that criticized his power were de facto cut off from most of the shrinking advertising market.
Under these conditions, fewer remaining independent newspapers and projects created by journalists who escaped from occupied and ruined editorial offices could make gross only from readers, surviving on grants, subscriptions and grants. Now Orbán is trying to cut off their last origin of income.
After the draft government has been formulated, it is clear that the government does not intend to control only abroad aid. erstwhile an editorial board is on the list, the authorities will look at all her financial transactions. The real intent of the bill is to deter donors and starve the independent press erstwhile and for all.
If this bill passes through Parliament, freedom of expression and expression in its present form will cease to be in Hungary, which will have dramatic consequences not only for this country but for Europe as a whole. It is absurd that in 2025, the government of any European Union country, which itself constantly needs backing from global partners and large powers, would punish organizations for taking money from abroad.
If this can be done by 1 of the associate States of the European Union, it will be the same in each of them sooner or later. The problem of orbanism does not close within national borders – it is simply a problem for the full of Europe.
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Pál Dániel Rényi is simply a political journalist, lives in Budapest.
The text was published in the Hungarian magazine 444, reprint with the approval of the editor. From English he translated Maciej Domagała.
