The lowest points of the propaganda on Hungary’s public television

Telex says Hungary’s public broadcaster M1 and the MTVA system became, after reforms in 2015, a major tool of the government’s propaganda machine—often trampling journalistic standards and relying on misleading or fabricated content.

The outlet highlights several “dismal” cases it says show how propaganda was produced and normalized:

Creating fake news: It points to a past case where a manipulated news segment was produced, and notes that the same person later received an internal “Reporter of the Year” award despite controversy around news manipulation. Misleading coverage of protests: Telex describes moments when the broadcaster’s live reporting allegedly failed to show the protests viewers later saw in subsequent broadcasts, suggesting selective or incompetent presentation that benefited the government narrative. “The Horrors of War” war-themed programming: It criticizes a program Telex says pushed a strong political message about Hungary staying out of war, focusing heavily on Ukraine’s conscription and civilian suffering while referencing Russian attacks only sporadically. It also alleges much of the conscription footage came from unverified sources such as Telegram channels. Escalatory claims tied to election politics: Telex criticizes the way political predictions—presented as if they were plausible “scenarios”—were broadcast, including claims framed as the possible start of “World War III” depending on which Hungarian government is in power. AI-generated propaganda content: It also alleges that M1 used political campaign material that included AI-created figures, making it unclear where the broadcaster’s report ended and where campaign material began.

Telex uses these examples to argue that, for years, Hungary’s public television did not operate as an impartial public service broadcaster, but instead as a dependable channel for government-aligned messaging.