A new smear campaign targeting Hungarian media outlet 444.hu and its international journalism project partners renews concerns about the erosion of press freedom in Hungary. The Media Freedom Rapid Response (MFRR) condemns the attacks and warns they may be used to justify official harassment of independent media.
On 16 August 2024, Hungary’s pro-government media launched a coordinated smear campaign against the independent media outlet 444.hu and its partners in The Eastern Frontier Initiative (TEFI), a cross-border journalism consortium that includes Bellingcat (the Netherlands), PressOne (Romania), Gazeta Wyborcza (Poland), and SME (Slovakia). The network, supported by the European Commission, brings together independent publishers from Central and Eastern Europe to cover security-related issues impacting the region.

The smear campaign accused the network of ‘information warfare’ designed to undermine the Hungarian government and claimed Bellingcat, known for its extensive open source investigations, was funded, trained and instructed by foreign intelligence services.

The campaign originated from Bennfentes.net, a platform known for disseminating unfounded and politically motivated attacks against the Hungarian government’s critics. The first defamatory article was then circulated across more than 15 pro-government media outlets.

This is a familiar tactic of the ruling party Fidesz’s media apparatus, designed to discredit critical voices. However, the incident is particularly concerning, given Hungary’s recent adoption of the Protection of National Sovereignty Act, which empowers the newly established Sovereignty Protection Office to investigate civil society organizations, including media, that receive foreign funding.

The office has already launched investigations into media outlet Atlatszo.hu and anti-corruption NGO Transparency International Hungary. The MFRR fears that the office will use the new campaign to open an investigation into 444.hu, initiating a new level of state-sponsored pressure on critical Hungarian voices.

In February 2024, the European Commission initiated infringement proceedings against Hungary to examine if the Sovereignty Act breaches EU law. Meanwhile, the European Parliament, the Council of Europe and its Venice Commission have all called for its abandonment or amendment.

This latest smear campaign against 444.hu, coupled with fears about the Sovereignty Protection Act’s potential misuse, exemplify Hungary’s troubling drift from European democratic standards.

The MFRR stands firmly with 444.hu, its international partners, and all Hungarian journalists committed to upholding the principles of media freedom. As we condemn this latest effort to vilify critical journalism, we also call for urgent action to reverse the alarming decline in press freedom in Hungary. Journalists must be free to operate without fear of retribution or undue interference.

Signed
International Press Institute (IPI)

ARTICLE 19 Europe

The European Centre for Press and Media Freedom (ECPMF)

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ)

Free Press Unlimited (FPU)

Osservatorio Balcani Caucaso Transeuropa (OBCT)