What happened on May 15th in front of the Hungarian Parliament has never happened before in Hungary: the country's five largest independent public editorial offices – 24.hu, Telex, HVG.hu, Partizán and 444 – demonstrated in a joint live broadcast against the so called “Transparency Law” proposed to the Parliament.

The series of discussions that lasted for hours was jointly edited by otherwise rival Hungarian political journalists. The atmosphere was shaken, uplifted and combative at the same time. Everyone felt the historical significance of the moment.

The bill submitted by a Fidesz MP the night before is indeed an unprecedented attempt to restrict freedom of expression and self-organisation in Hungary. Moreover, it directly threatens the functioning of the few remaining free press organs. On Sunday, May 18th , 30-40 thousand people demonstrated against the bill in front of the Parliament. This public outrage, however, did not convince the government majority, which is still preparing to pass the legislation arbitrarily, without any meaningful political debate or professional consultation, as has been the case for the past fifteen years.

The legislation, modelled on the Russian Foreign Agent Law, gives special powers to the Sovereignty Protection Office (SPO), which was set up by the government a year and a half ago. This office has so far been used by the government mainly for communication purposes, to give the impression that various globalist forces and background powers, from Brussels to Kiev, are constantly trying to interfere in the internal affairs of the Hungarian government. The new legislation would empower the office with serious competencies: it would have the authority to prepare for the government a list of those organisations it considers to be “threatening Hungary's sovereignty”.

What exactly does this mean? The list could include any organisation or press outlet engaging in public activity that accepts funding, donations or even gifts from non Hungarian citizens: EU institutions, private individuals or persons with dual nationality might also belong to the donors in this case. For being considered to endanger Hungary’s sovereignty, it is sufficient to express a simple political opinion that “negatively reflects the independent, democratic and constitutional nature of Hungary” , or questions “the primacy of marriage, family and biological sex” or “Hungary's constitutional identity and Christian culture” .

The draft is intentionally vague and ambiguous in order to keep the organisations, press products, journalists and their supporters in suspense and to induce self-censorship and a chilling effect. This type of existential fearmongering is a tried and tested method of Fidesz, which has been in power for fifteen years.

As to who will be on the list, the government leaves little doubt. The Sovereignty Protection Office, led by Viktor Orbán's personal confidant Tamás Lánczi, has been publishing “research materials” (in fact, defamatory pamphlets) for months, and since the beginning of the year has been campaigning against certain editorial offices in paid advertisements on YouTube, Facebook and other platforms. The SPO’s materials urge subscribers and supporters not to give money to these news outlets because they are “scamming them” and receiving millions of dollars from abroad. These allegations are entirely false, as these media outlets receive only small private donations from abroad, have many Hungarian subscribers living abroad and carry out international projects with funding from EU and other public tenders.

If the law enters into force, organisations on the list to be drawn up by the Office would not be able to receive donations from taxpayers (Hungarian taxpayers are entitled to donate 1% of their taxes to a non-profit organization), their donors will have to make a declaration of support, and their leaders will have to submit a declaration of assets. Organisations on the list would be closely monitored by the authorities, and they risk a brutal (twenty-five-fold) penalty for unauthorised donations. The tax authorities would be able to inspect their computers and documents and search their premises - and those who do not comply risk being banned. There would be no possibility for legal redress.

This is the reality of freedom of expression in Hungary today.

Since the beginning of the year, Viktor Orbán has been making increasingly absurd
accusations against civilians and the independent press, claiming that they have been conducting war propaganda as part of a conspiracy orchestrated from Brussels and Kiev. He warned well in advance that he was going to strike. He has promised to sweep out those who serve foreign interests, and in his March 15th speech he compared his domestic political opponents to bugs he would crush soon. At his first rally after the introduction of the bill, he confirmed his intentions:

“Those who are in politics should not receive money from abroad! It's not a big request, it's a modest, simple one. And we will not cave in this matter.”

Hungarian newsrooms have been under constant pressure for years now: the government and its media outlets have been systematically provoking and discrediting independent press staff, repeatedly portraying reporters as servants of foreign interests, mercenaries and traitors. The law on the protection of sovereignty passed last year has made it possible to monitor “public figures”, including journalists, without any grounds for suspicion or judicial authorisation. However, the authorities have not shied away from illegal surveillance of journalists even before then. In the infamous Pegasus-scandal, it emerged that Israeli spy software had been installed on the phones of several investigative journalists who had been exposing government corruption.

The law that is about to be passed could be the last stage of a long and deliberate war.

For fifteen years, Orbán has continued his fierce fight against the remaining bastions of the free press. He was advancing step by step. First, he bought out and scared away foreign investors, then he expropriated the media market by monopolizing state advertising. For ten years, critical newspapers have not received a single penny, and in the process the government has dominated the public media: they turned the country's once largest independent news sites (Index, Origo) into pro-government mouthpieces, bought up the provincial newspapers, acquired the largest commercial TV channel (TV2), bought themselves into tabloids, closed Népszabadság, and gained influence over even some of the opposition media.

Investors close to the government have appeared in all areas of the media market, behind the agencies and in the sales houses too, bringing not only the state advertisements but also a significant part of public advertising under the control of the authorities. In the meantime, companies close to Orbán have also gained decisive influence in the strategic sectors of the advertising market as well, such as banking, telecommunications and energy. Critical newspapers have been effectively excluded from most of the shrinking advertising market.

Under these circumstances, the new projects of the journalists who fled from the occupied and ruined editorial offices and the few remaining critical public newspapers could only generate income from readers: they try to sustain themselves through donations, subscriptions and tenders.

Orbán is now trying to cut off the only remaining source of income.

It is clear from the wording of the draft legislation that the government does not only want to control foreign aid. Once someone makes it to the list, the government will monitor all their financial transactions with a magnifying glass. The real aim of the bill is to scare donors away from newspapers and to dry up the independent press for good.

At these crucial times, we have no choice but to appeal to our readers and partners for support. If this law passes through parliament, freedom of expression and opinion in its present form will cease to exist in Hungary, with dramatic consequences not only for the country but for whole Europe. It is absurd that in 2025, the government of an EU country – which itself is constantly in need of funding from international partners and great powers – should punish organisations for accepting money from abroad. If this can be done in the middle of the European Union, if this can be done in one EU Member State, sooner or later it will be done elsewhere too. The problem of Orbánism does not stop at the borders of the country, it is not a matter for Hungary alone – it is a matter for the whole of Europe.

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Illustration: Bence Kiss (444)