"Ukrainians threaten Hungary every day": the image of Ukraine in the Hungarian media

Viktor Orbán once consolidated his power by using migrants fleeing the war in Syria through Europe. They were supposed to threaten our Christian values, the country would fall because of foreigners... The task was simple: to offer his voters an enemy, to stir up their discontent and mobilize them for political action, that is, to come and vote for Orban.

The place of migrants has long been occupied by Ukraine. But as Orban feels he may lose the election, his rhetoric has become even more aggressive. Ukrainian refugees in Hungary say that the election campaigning gives the impression that Volodymyr Zelenskyy is going to run for office: so many of his portraits are depicted in political advertisements. The same impression is shared by the media owned by Viktor Orban: the Ukrainian president is mentioned almost as often as Peter Magyar, the opponent of the current Hungarian prime minister. More often than not, they are portrayed as accomplices who want to mock the common people. However, are the old propaganda tactics working before the upcoming elections?

Are Ukrainian special services interfering in the Hungarian elections?

When you read Orban-controlled publications, you think of the good old Ukrainian jeans from the days of Yushchenko's confrontation with Yanukovych. Or the information campaigns that Donald Trump waged on Twitter against Barack Obama. The main rule is unfounded accusations and aggressive attacks. Facts may not be used at all.

For example, Magyar Nemzet uses " social media sources" to portray Péter Magyar as a drug addict. The media questioned Magyar's drug test and published transcripts of some secret recordings. "We have caught Peter Magyar," the Fidesz publication quotes a member of Orban's party as saying. Facts? It turns out that he simply did not provide the results of the audit to his opponents.

IMAGE: screenshot from the website of Magyar Nemzet

Of course, the biggest "danger" is not drugs, but Magyar's allegedly pro-Ukrainian position. "Agents of Tisa [the party headed by Magyar] wanted to bypass Orban's veto and use forged documents to give Ukraine a loan of 90 billion euros," writes Magyar Nemzet.

In general, the journalists of Magyar Nemzet portrayed Ukrainians as an evil force with powerful intelligence services that are plotting against Hungarians and want to interfere in the elections. The purpose of such propaganda is to intimidate the electorate and push them to vote for Orban: "Ukrainians threaten Hungary every day. And even their intelligence services are interfering in the election campaign, bugging our foreign minister, integrating into the Tisza Party and doing everything possible to put a pro-Ukrainian government in charge of the country. If a pro-Ukrainian government is formed in Hungary, we can put an end to the next twenty years. We will defend Hungary and everything that belongs to Hungarians!" - Viktor Orban was quoted as saying.

The Ukrainians are also to blame for the fact that Hungary is suffering losses due to the war, but the government is doing everything to strengthen the economy, the Hungarian prime minister told his voters. "I will not allow them to rob Hungarians and take their money to Ukraine," he threatens his opponents.

IMAGE: screenshot from Magyar Nemzet website

Ukrainian spies in Hungary and Melania, who "deeply despises" Zelenskaya

Origo, another pro-Zelenskiy outlet, covers events in a very similar vein. It also writes about the "Ukrainian spy scandal". It turns out that it involved... an IT specialist associated with the opposition Tysa party. The media outlet cites anonymous sources within the party itself and publishes a photo of this specialist on Facebook as evidence.

IMAGE: screenshot from the Origo website

Another report on the same topic is about 400 agents of Ukrainian special services working in Hungary. "All of them are working on the victory of the Tisa party in the elections," Origo quoted Mate Kocsis, a member of the Fidesz party, as saying. It is not entirely clear how the MP knows this. But a large figure backed by loud accusations seems to be more important for propaganda influence than clear links.

Origo actively covers the Russian-Ukrainian war. In particular, you can read the following: Zelenskyi is resisting Putin, but "Putin's response will not be long in coming"; Russian drones are bringing "deadly devastation" to Ukraine; Ukrainians are in trouble because "the Russian front is strengthening"; cemeteries are overcrowded, etc. Of course, they also write about the TCCs, which shoot at people and are ready to mobilize everyone. So the main task is to show the situation in the blackest possible colors. They will not write about victories, technological innovations, or the resistance of Ukrainians. Since Orban constantly repeats that Zelenskyy, some EU leaders, and his rival want a war with Russia, this presentation should intimidate readers and link opponents to the themes of death and destruction.

IMAGE: screenshot from the Origo website

The publication also contains the following hot news: Melania Trump "deeply despises Zelenskaya". Allegedly, the American first lady is very "cold" towards her Ukrainian colleague and "avoids meetings." The source is "political scientist" Vladimir Skachko, a Russian propagandist from Ukraine, who gave an interview on this topic to the Russian publication Argumenty i Fakty. It is clear that the First Lady did not give Skachko any comments. These are all his assumptions.

Ukraine interfered in the US election

The more moderate, but also pro-Orbán publication Index.hu writes much less about Ukraine and has a neutral rhetoric, but still presents the government in a positive light. Thus, it is obvious that Orban and the government received disproportionate attention before the election.

While propaganda outlets deny Orban's possible defeat in the election, the approach here is more subtle. The outlet tries to quietly sow doubt. For example, it gives the following headline: "Péter Magyar is considered the favorite, but millions are betting on Viktor Orbán's victory." The text says that you can bet on the winner of the election. And Orban is the most popular choice: "72% of those who bet have chosen Viktor Orban, and 28% have chosen Péter Magyar," the newspaper writes.

The text continues to play up to the current prime minister. In the first photo, he is shown in full face, while his rival is in profile, his face is darkened. A Slovak TV channel is quoted as saying that Orban has built good relations with Trump and Czech Prime Minister Babiš, and that Trump's support is symbolic of victory. At the end of the article, a poll on the Slovak channel's social media was cited. According to its results, three times as many respondents believe in Orban's victory. Of course, questions arise about the representativeness of such a poll.

In its lies about Ukraine, Index.hu goes even further than the openly propagandistic media. The article, citing anonymous sources, states that Ukraine wanted to interfere... in the American election and lead to Biden's victory. It turns out that Ukrainian officials wanted to redirect American funds allocated for the development of energy infrastructure to finance Joe Biden's election campaign, the outlet quoted anonymous sources as saying. "It is not yet known whether this scheme has ever been implemented, and no official criminal proceedings have been initiated in this case," Index.hu writes. Despite the lack of confirmation, the topic has received considerable attention. The publication quotes, for example, an adviser to Prime Minister Balázs Orban, who says that Ukraine interferes in political processes around the world, so it is not surprising that "Ukrainian agents" have recently been exposed in Hungary. The article ends with a section on corruption in Ukraine. The right context should help the reader make the decision necessary for propagandists.

Gladiator Lavrov and optimist Siyarto

A few months before the election, the pro-Orban group Indamedia acquired a number of publications, the most popular of which is the tabloid Blikk with an audience of three million readers a month. This, of course, was perceived as an attempt to increase pressure on the media. By the way, the editor of the publication resigned from his position, apparently anticipating a change in editorial policy.

At first glance, the tabloid seems to focus on glamorous news, lifestyle, and sports. However, readers are offered, for example, a short selection of government news. And there we find the same messages as in previous media influenced by Orban and his supporters: the spy scandal, the ties between the opposition party Tisa and the Ukrainian special services, the "drug addiction" of political rivals.

In addition, the publication publishes an interview with Foreign Minister Peter Sijjarto, who recently made news by admitting that he calls his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov from closed EU meetings. The text does not contain any pointed questions, and the journalist allows the interlocutor to explain his position in detail. Despite the pre-election ratings, according to which the ruling party is seriously inferior to its competitors, the journalist simply asks whether Siyarto is feeling optimistic. To which he, of course, gives an affirmative answer.

It seems that the interview was recorded so that the minister could deny all accusations and appear as a "simple guy" who comes from the countryside and likes to wear shorts. He also criticizes European politicians: the Lithuanian minister is "boring"; the minister from Luxembourg is two-faced because he criticizes him and then pats him on the back. But the ministers from Russia, China, Turkey, and the United States are "very nice." Despite the fact that the publication is a tabloid, the entire text of the interviews is built around serious topics: politics, wars, elections, and the economy.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov is also mentioned in a positive light, as he is said to be very passionate about football. Referring to the Hungarian diplomat János Herman, the publication calls the Russian war criminal a "gladiator" and a true representative of the "Soviet intelligentsia."

Will provincial residents vote for Orban?

While the pro-government Hungarian media are diligently completing the script of another spy thriller, where Ukrainian special services personally arrange furniture in the offices of the opposition, some resources are stubbornly trying to spoil this blockbuster with boring facts. According to the government's mouthpieces, Hungary is a besieged fortress that is being attacked by Ukrainians. But what do the independent media, which have survived in the country despite the pressure, say? For example, quite recently, Hungarian investigative journalist Szabolcs Panyi was accused of espionage. It was he who found evidence that Szijjártó might be leaking information to Lavrov.

This is how Telex covers the election. Here, instead of epic battles for the survival of the nation, you can find a schedule of election deadlines and dry data from opinion polls. The publication analyzes in detail why the real mood of voters in the province has suddenly stopped coinciding with the themes of state TV channels. It should be reminded that provincial voters have always been the basis of the populist electorate: from Orban and Navrotsky to Trump.

<i>See the section "Parliamentary elections 2026". IMAGE: screenshot from telex.hu</i>

Disillusionment with Orbán and anxiety among rural residents is also noted by 24.hu: "I don't need anything, just security," says Aranka, who lives on a pension of a few thousand in a dilapidated house. She is terrified of the war, but watches war movies when we visit her. We definitely needed to assess public opinion. Four years ago, we met only support for the Fidesz party and satisfaction with the way things are going in the country, but today the situation has changed. A report from the Cserháth region, a Fidesz bastion in Borsod, where there are those who compare Péter Magyar to Hitler, but also those who are no longer going to vote because "if Orban wins, there will be war because Zelensky will bomb Hungary. And if Magyar wins, there will also be war."

IMAGE: screenshot from 24.hu

The same publication raises another topic - about Orban's "titushky" - mysterious people in black who appear at his rallies. "While Viktor Orbán regularly speaks on stage about the Fidesz community of love and the united nation, mysterious men in black hoodies are harassing his opponents," the publication quotes Sabolcs Pek, an expert at the Institute for Political and Economic Studies. According to the expert, such "Russian" tactics may indicate Orban's fear and may also be counterproductive, as it will confuse most of his supporters.

IMAGE: screenshot from 24.hu

Conclusion.

The radicalization of Orbán's media rhetoric and desperate attempts to use the image of the enemy may, among other things, indicate a fear of losing the election. However, according to pre-election ratings, these tactics are no longer working. Instead of mobilizing voters, the ruling party has made them indifferent to the "terrible Ukrainian threat." Espionage scandals, Ukrainian corruption schemes that allegedly entangled the whole world, an inevitable and ruthless war... Perhaps the typical Orban voter feels powerless in the face of the scale of these dangers. Although he or she may realize that such fear-mongering is just a modern decor for the old strategy of holding power through fear. And the allegations of corruption in Hungary make him wonder if the "evil force" that is plotting against Hungarians is not speaking Ukrainian, but rather Hungarian, a language they understand in government quarters.

Наталія Стеблина, Олег Колеснік