Thousands rally against alleged 'propaganda' in Hungarian media

Several thousand demonstrators waving Hungarian flags rallied in Budapest on Saturday, demanding an end to what they called "propaganda" by the nationalist government in the media.

Brandishing the red, white and green flags, the crowd massed in front of the headquarters of the state broadcaster MTVA, holding up posters reading: "Independent public media" and "Not left, not right, just Hungarian!"

Since Prime Minister Viktor Orban's return to power in 2010, many independent media outlets in Hungary have either gone out of business or been turned into pro-government organs, while public media have been forced to toe the line of the ruling Fidesz party.

MTVA has long been branded a mouthpiece of Orban, rarely publishing critical reports about his government, while slamming those perceived as rivals.

Saturday's protest was organised by the TISZA party of opposition leader Peter Magyar, who has emerged as a staunch critic of Orban and has urged the public broadcaster to provide "more balanced" news.

"Enough of the lies, enough of the propaganda. Patience has run out -- the hour of reckoning has arrived," Magyar told the cheering crowd.

Aniko Lisztes, a 37-year-old florist, told AFP that she was "glad" to join the protest to draw attention to the "place were the brainwashing of the population is being concocted".

"Everything connected to MTVA is such blatant propaganda. Unfortunately, these messages still reach most households," said Balazs Halasz, a 51-year-old technician.

"Taxpayers demand truthful information, not the dishonest tsunami of propaganda," kindergarten teacher Karola Vitez, 43, told AFP.

In May, the state broadcaster hosted its first election debate since 2006, after Magyar threatened to hold continuous demonstrations at its headquarters.

In June's European elections, TISZA won almost 30 percent of the votes, coming in second place behind Fidesz.

Despite Magyar's rising popularity, MTVA only recently granted him a live interview.

During the last parliamentary elections in 2022, which resulted in a landslide victory for Fidesz, international observers of the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) found "biased news coverage" in favour of the ruling party. It said this "limited the ability" of Hungarian voters to "make an informed choice".