Hungary's Major State-run Media Outlets Apologized For "years Of Lies" And Ceased Broadcasting

The country's Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, called it a historic day.

The main news portal and official website of the Hungarian public broadcaster MTVA have suspended operations following a decision by the country’s new leadership. This is due to accusations that it has engaged in years of propaganda in support of the country’s former prime minister Viktor Orbán, according to Bloomberg.

A statement has appeared on the broadcaster’s website in which MTVA apologizes for its editorial policy under Orbán.

“Public media should not lie. We apologize for having done so for many years! Public media is currently undergoing a transformation to become independent and trustworthy in the future. News service has been temporarily suspended. Stay tuned!” the broadcaster’s website states.

Hungary’s new prime minister Péter Magyar called the suspension of the broadcaster’s operations a “historic day.” “Today marks the end of propaganda broadcasts in the media. They lied at night, they lied during the day, they lied on every frequency. Now it’s all over,” he added.

Magyar was elected prime minister on May 9. Orbán served as prime minister from 1998 to 2002 and from 2010 to 2026. Bloomberg reports that control over the media has played a key role in maintaining his power over the past 16 years. State media rarely interviewed the opposition, “broadcasting a steady stream of positive news” even during a period when Hungary “slipped to the level of one of the poorest and most corrupt countries in the EU,” the article states. European Union leaders have repeatedly criticized Orbán and accused him of suppressing freedom of speech, undermining the multiparty system, and eroding the independence of the judiciary.

Magyar has repeatedly criticized the Orbán government and accused the outgoing administration of squandering the budget.

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