People attend a protest organized by the leading opposition party TISZA, at the public TV building in Budapest, Hungary October 5, 2024. REUTERS/Bernadett Szabo
BUDAPEST (Reuters) - Thousands of Hungarians gathered outside the headquarters of the country's state television on Saturday, protesting against what they described as the government's "propaganda machine" and calling for an independent public service media.
The protestors, from the opposition TISZA party, say that the state broadcaster MTVA is running biased propaganda, featuring only politicians from Prime Minister Viktor Orban's party and government, and analysts repeating their narrative.
The centre-right TISZA party, led by media-savvy political newcomer, Peter Magyar, is posing the biggest challenge to right-wing nationalist Orban since he swept to power in 2010.
Waving the national flag and banners saying "Stop Propaganda", thousands of TISZA supporters gathered in Budapest, shouting "We are not afraid" and "we've had enough" at the latest mass rally called by Magyar.
"We have had enough of the malice, the lies, the propaganda, our patience has run out," Magyar told the crowd.
"What we have as public service media in Hungary today is a global scandal, we have had enough."
Magyar demanded that public service TV show the protest in an "unedited" broadcast.
TISZA, which stands for Tisztelet es Szabadsag (Respect and Freedom) has 39% support among voters, compared with 43% for Orban's Fidesz party, according to a survey published by pollster Median last month. The next elections are due in early 2026.
Magyar, tapping into voters' growing frustrations with Orban at a time when the economy is just clambering out of an inflation crisis, has promised to root out corruption, rebuild public service media and restore democratic checks and balances, which critics say have been eroded under Orban.
While the public media primarily serves as a government mouthpiece, private media is largely controlled by allies of Orban's Fidesz.
The government has denied undermining press freedom.
The U.N. Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan has said there was "a distorted media environment in Hungary where pluralism, diversity and independence of media is being questioned."
(Reporting by Krisztina Than; editing by Clelia Oziel)
