Journalists at Hungary’s most-read newspaper have expressed shock after a media group seen as close to nationalist prime minister Viktor Orbán’s party, Fidesz, bought the tabloid from its previous Swiss owners. Over the past 15 years Orbán has been able to use a sprawling pro-government media landscape to boost his image and polls. He has criticised the Ringier Hungary deal, saying it represents another attempt by Orbán to cement his control over Hungary’s media outlets. Donald Trump and his allies have long praised Orbán’s Hungary even as it plunges in press freedom rankings. In 2022, Orbán told a conference of US conservatives, CPAC, that the path to power required “having their own media”.
