Hungary’s incoming president vows to shut down state broadcaster MTVA

Hungary’s incoming president, Péter Magyar, has vowed to shut down the country’s national broadcaster, MTVA, comparing it to the state media in North Korea and Nazi propaganda.

Péter Magyar

© European Union, 1998 – 2026

Magyar appeared on MTVA news channel M1 this week, where he accused the broadcaster of spreading lies and misinformation controlled by the current government, led by president Viktor Orbán since 2010.

“What has been happening here since 2010 is something that Goebbels or the North Korean leadership would admire – not a single true word being spoken. This cannot continue,” Magyar told M1’s host in an interview.

The president-elect also accused MTVA of spreading false information about him and insulting his family, which his interviewer denied.

Magyar led his Tisza party to victory in the 2026 parliamentary election last weekend, winning a supermajority of seats to oust Orbán and his Fidesz party after 16 years in post.

In the heated interview on M1, Magyar said: “One element of our programme is that this factory of lies will end once a Tisza government is formed. The fake news broadcast here must stop, and we will create independent, objective and impartial conditions to end this propaganda.”

Owned and financed by the Hungarian state, MTVA was founded after Orbán took office for the second time in 2010. It is a member of the European Broadcasting Union and, in 2019, was accused in a report by the European Federation of Journalists of unbalanced news coverage where opposition politicians’ viewpoints are nearly absent.

Magyar’s appearance on M1 this week was his first in 18 months. In the interview, he claimed he hadn’t been allowed on air during that time, although the host argued he had been invited several times.

Via subsidiary Duna Média, MTVA controls six TV channels. In addition to M1, these comprise general channel Duna, children’s/youth channel M2/Petőfi, sports channel M4 Sport, cultural channel M5 and international service Duna World.