This testimonial was originally published in a special edition of our In Vivo newsletter.
— Budapest, May 27, 2025
The "Easter purge," as Orbán himself called it, had been announced. On March 15, the day of the Hungarian national holiday commemorating the 1848 revolution — which notably defended freedom of the press — Orbán announced a plan to eliminate the "shadow army."
Since that speech, we knew a major event was being prepared.
Then, a few days ago, the draft 'transparency law' was published two minutes before midnight.
Everyone expected something serious, but it exceeded all expectations, as the text was far more severe than anything we had imagined until now.
The law must now be voted on in Parliament on June 10. Technically, it is still a bill that can be amended, but we do not expect any major changes, even under pressure.
This bill could be titled 'Shut up or shut down.' It gives the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty the power to place certain independent organizations, such as independent media or NGOs deemed to be 'threatening Hungary's sovereignty,' on a special list so that the government can then sanction them if necessary. In many respects, this text is reminiscent of Russia's foreign agents law.
We saw it coming from a long way off. The past fifteen years of Orbán's government have been marked by a lengthy and deliberate process of silencing and suppressing critical voices in Hungary.
This process began in 2010, when the Orbán government adopted highly restrictive media legislation. Since then, many organizations have come under government control or been forced to close, investors have left the country, the advertising market has been completely distorted, and most importantly, independent media have been systematically denied access to information of public interest and forced to file special requests to obtain answers to basic questions.
If this new law is adopted, it will not be a simple step forward, but a leap toward the authoritarian regimes we have only known outside of Europe until now.
One of the most concerning elements remains the scale of the resources they deploy to silence critical voices, particularly by requiring organization leaders to disclose their personal assets and potentially authorizing authorities to conduct investigations into their devices and digital data. Even the private sphere is a clear target.
Despite this, we remain faithful to our beliefs and objectives. We will comply with the law to the extent possible, but we will not abandon the journalistic activities that we consider to be the foundation of our mission.
Between now and June 10, we have a very simple goal: to do everything we can to prevent this law from being passed and to push for at least its most radical and unacceptable aspects to be modified.
We also see this as a deliberate provocation against the EU, because if Brussels turns a blind eye, it is European rule of law that will be undermined. The EU must therefore respond in one way or another.
A strong EU reaction, whether political or even legal, could nonetheless serve Orbán's narrative that Europe is the source of Hungary's problems.
In the meantime, people are responding. We've seen an increase in traffic to our website, engagement, and donations. This reinforces our sense of responsibility in protecting what we have.
Even in political circles that generally support the government, cautious, skeptical, and even somewhat critical voices seem to be emerging.
The only true preventive measure for citizens lies in quickly recognizing this type of threat, mobilizing, and informing one another.
That political power passes from one hand to another is the game of democracy. But the very idea that media becomes the primary target of dominant political powers, that they are deliberately discredited and subjected to state-funded disinformation campaigns in order to undermine trust, is a factor that will contribute to creating a truly undemocratic situation, without open public debate, which may be irreversible.
Our mission remains unchanged: to provide free, factual information and critical, independent journalism. Whatever the severity of the measures, we are determined to continue our work.
This is not just a threat to independent journalism or civic spaces, but also to some of the last bastions of freedom in our society.
Citizens' right to information and the right of the media to inform freely, to express and to reflect opinions are at stake, and the price to pay is increasingly high.
Join us in defending freedom and media independence in Hungary and Europe, by signing our petition.
To go further
- Want to know more about the situation in Hungary and the threat to independent journalism in the country? Read 444 article on the topic.
- Support the work of Hungarian media outlet 444, threatened today.
- Read the full interview with Gábor Kardos in English on Sphera.
