An unusual development has occurred in Hungary, where several major public media outlets affiliated with former Prime Minister Viktor Orban have stopped broadcasting after losing the parliamentary elections.
The state-run M1 television screen displayed only a black background with a message that read: "The media cannot lie. We apologize for doing this for years."
M1 television was considered for years one of the media outlets closest to Orban's government and has been accused by critics of being a propaganda tool for the regime. According to local media, the suspension also affected the public broadcaster Kossuth Radio, while the online pages of these institutions also displayed black screens.
Hungary's new Prime Minister, Péter Magyar, announced that public media will be restored under a new administration. For the time being, news broadcasts will be suspended, while only music programming from a partner station will be broadcast on the radio.
Magyar described the moment as “historic,” declaring that the era of propaganda in public media is over. In a reaction on social media, he wrote that, according to him, the media had “lied night and day, through every possible channel,” adding that this period has now ended.
During Viktor Orbán's 16 years in power, his critics have claimed that public media have effectively become state-owned and have lost editorial independence. Some media industry representatives have compared the conditions to those in countries with strong state control over information.
Magyar's Tisza party won the parliamentary elections promising a deep reform of the media system and the restoration of the independence of public institutions. After taking office, the new prime minister ordered a review of the way state media operate and are financed.
Meanwhile, Viktor Orban has reacted by criticizing this process, calling it "another step of the Tisza tyranny."