In 2017, the Hungarian government allocated over 40 million euros, a figure that translates to approximately 43 million US dollars, for its ‘national consultations’ and the subsequent communication of their ‘results’. This information came to light following a freedom of information request filed by Atlatszo, revealing the detailed budget of these extensive propaganda campaigns. Alarmingly, nearly a third of this substantial sum was directed towards entities linked to Lőrinc Mészáros, a known close associate of Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán.
Throughout 2017, there was ongoing scrutiny regarding the Hungarian government’s expenditure on public relations initiatives. To obtain concrete data, Atlatszo formally requested detailed financial information at the close of the year. The ministry complied, providing the requested documents for a fee of 375 euros. The data was delivered as scanned PDFs, which were then converted into manageable excel files for analysis.
Propaganda banner featuring Zalan, part of the Hungarian government's 40 million euro advertising campaign in 2017. Image from Atlatszo article exposing government spending.
Upon compiling the figures for 2017, the total expenditure reached a staggering 40.5 million euros. This substantial amount, equivalent to roughly 43.5 million US dollars, was channeled into advertising and disseminating the outcomes of two ‘national consultations’. These campaigns were characterized by widespread anti-George Soros messaging, featuring posters across Hungary urging citizens to ‘stop’ the Hungarian-born billionaire. These anti-Soros and anti-migration campaigns were continuous from April to November, with only a brief pause during the summer months.
Mészáros’ Media Empire: A Prime Beneficiary
The analysis revealed that the largest beneficiary of this state-funded advertising blitz was Lőrinc Mészáros. Mészáros, who also holds the position of mayor of Felcsút, Prime Minister Orbán’s hometown, saw a significant portion of the funds flow to his media holdings. Print and online publications under Mediaworks, along with his TV channel Echo, received a total of 12.8 million euros (approximately 13.7 million US dollars) for carrying the anti-Soros advertisements.
Following Mészáros, András Tombor, a close business associate of Árpád Habony – an influential, albeit enigmatic, political strategist working with Orbán – secured the second-largest share. Odex, an outdoor advertising company specializing in billboards and city lights, claimed the third spot in terms of received funds.
Companies associated with Andy Vajna, the government’s film commissioner and a casino magnate, received over 3.3 million euros (around 3.5 million US dollars), positioning him fourth on the list. Árpád Habony himself, through his media outlets Lokál and 888.hu, ranked fifth, receiving approximately half the amount allocated to Vajna’s entities.
Propping Up Pro-Government Media
These government-funded propaganda initiatives serve as a crucial financial lifeline for the media landscape that supports the Orbán administration. A significant portion of the 40.5 million euros, or 43.5 million US dollars, was directly paid to these media organizations for disseminating the anti-Soros propaganda.
Mediaworks, under Mészáros’ ownership, emerged as the top media beneficiary, receiving 11.5 million euros (over 12.3 million US dollars). Other media companies that profited from these campaigns include New Wave Media, owned by the son of György Matolcsy, the head of the central bank. However, the allocated budget was extensive enough to encompass virtually all media outlets aligned with the government, including Magyar Idők, Figyelő, Demokrata, Magyar Hírlap, and pestisracok.hu, all of which received funding from these propaganda campaigns.
Accessing the Raw Data
For a detailed breakdown of the costs associated with the 2017 propaganda campaigns, you can refer to the summary table available here.
The original PDF documents obtained from the ministry are accessible via these links: here, here, here, here, and here.
Authored by Katalin Erdélyi
Read the original Hungarian article here.
