A Pole at the center of the scandal in Hungary? Orban’s spokesman did not hide his fury

Before the parliamentary elections in Hungary scheduled for April 12, tensions are growing over the role of social media. On Wednesday, March 18 Budapest authorities and pro-government portals publicly accused Facebook of favoring the opposition. This is about allegedly promoting the content of Peter Magyar, the leader of Tisza, while limiting the reach of Prime Minister Viktor Orban.

Storm before the elections in Hungary. Accusations against Facebook

government spokesman, Zoltan Kovacs, named a Meta employee from Poland, accusing him of bias against the government. According to Viktor Orban’s associate, “the Pole’s online activity and political sympathies may influence content moderation in a way that is unfavorable for the Hungarian prime minister.”

He added that “the employee has repeatedly shown sympathy for the Hungarian opposition movement and his online activity indicates a strong pro-Ukrainian position and opposition to the former Law and Justice government in Poland.”

Facebook and the elections in Hungary

The pro-government weekly Mandiner described Facebook’s actions as “open interference in the election campaign.” He also quotes Lebanese-Australian commentator Mario Nawfall, who notes that Peter Magyar’s posts achieve extremely high engagement rates, beyond global standards, even though Hungary is a relatively small country.

According to Mario Nawfall, “Met’s way of moderating political content is also questionable.” – If the platform restricts Viktor Orban’s posts and at the same time increases the visibility of the opposition, it raises questions about freedom of speech and the fairness of the democratic process. This requires immediate explanation, he said.

In turn, Csaba Domotor, a Fidesz MEP, claims that The European Commission has launched regulatory mechanisms that, in practice, may block content on social networking sites before the elections. The politician considered it a “de facto blocking of Facebook” working to the detriment of the Hungarian government.

Elections in Hungary. Latest polls

According to recent polls, there may be a political revolution in Hungary. The 21st Research Center Survey of March 11 shows that the opposition TISHA may win 115 of the 199 seats in parliament. The absolute majority is 100 seats.

21 Research Center indicates that Peter Magyar’s party leads by 8 percentage points, achieving support at 38 percent Just behind TISHA is Fidesz, which he wants to vote for 30 percent Węgrów and third place is taken by Mi Hazánk, accumulating 6 percent votes.