A company that made massive profits from government advertising deals funneled billions into real estate investments and corporate spinoffs.
After a lengthy freedom-of-information lawsuit, Átlátszó obtained more than a thousand documents detailing media purchases under two government communication framework agreements worth a combined HUF 125 billion.
Following Viktor Orbán’s electoral defeat, the collapse of state advertising revenues has triggered mass layoffs across Hungary’s pro-government media empire, exposing its long-standing dependence on public funding.
A former tabloid journalist, Ágnes Forgács worked for Ripost, an outlet that combined tabloid methods with intelligence material likely coming from government sources for political goals.
The activities of Brussels-based news site Brussels Signal were financed in full by Fidesz-aligned media holding Mediaworks during 2024, to the tune of EUR 1.5m.
Entities in the orbit of BLA, MCC – known financiers of the Orbán government’s influence machinery – revealed to have received funding from Hungarian culture fund’s scandalous recent grants.
In documents filed to receive an outlandish government-financed grant they effectively promised to lead a political campaign in Budapest in the long lead-up to next year’s election – and beyond.
In an ongoing paid ad campaign, shown to millions of Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube users, an animated ad depicts Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with Hungarian opposition leader Péter Magyar as trash to be dumped out.
Hungarian public media has promised extremely close cooperation to its Chinese partners in several contracts.
Among a founding members of the government's troll farm, Átlátszó spotted the head of a shady business network that sold seemingly ineffective medical devices to vulnerable pensioners.
The semi-official government paper Magyar Nemzet lost 24 lawsuits, while Átlátszó, Magyar Hang and RTL won all of their cases.
