On February 19, 2026, the opposition in Hungary condemned a campaign video released by Prime Minister Viktor Orban's ruling Fidesz party. The emotionally charged 33-second video depicts a blindfolded Hungarian soldier kneeling in a rain-soaked battlefield before being shot, while a young girl watches from behind a window. The accompanying text ominously states, "This is only a nightmare now, but Brussels is preparing to make it a reality ... Let's not take risks. Fidesz is the safe choice!"
In the lead-up to the parliamentary elections scheduled for April 12, Orban has framed the political contest as a choice between "war and peace." He asserts that if Magyar's center-right Tisza party were to win, Hungary would be coerced into supporting Ukraine in its conflict with Russia due to European Union pressures.
Peter Magyar, the leader of the Tisza party, voiced his strong disapproval, calling the video "sickening, unforgivable, and deeply outrageous." He characterized it as "soulless manipulation" rather than politics.
The video's release has prompted discussions about the use of artificial intelligence in political campaigning. Fidesz's chief of staff, Gergely Gulyas, acknowledged that AI technology was utilized to produce the video, enabling complex lifelike scenes without traditional filming. The European Union is expected to introduce an AI Act that will mandate disclosures for AI-generated political content.
Despite a landscape of increasing tension, recent polling indicates that Tisza maintains an 8-12 point advantage over Fidesz, though some government-aligned surveys still report the ruling party ahead. A notable 23% of voters believe a Tisza victory could lead Hungary into the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, while 57% of Fidesz supporters share similar fears.
The backlash against the video highlights the fraught political environment as Hungary prepares for its upcoming elections, where emotional and fear-based tactics are becoming prominent.
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