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With a crucial election—likely to be Europe’s most important national vote of the year—just around the corner, Hungary’s Viktor Orbán has somewhat predictably been accused of benefitting from Russian interference.
The Financial Times on Wednesday published a piece saying Vladimir Putin’s administration has “endorsed a plan … to bolster Orbán’s Fidesz party by flooding social media with messages designed in Russia and posted by influential Hungarians.” It cites—though does not specify—“people familiar with the matter.”
Economist, writer, and podcast host Philip Pilkington said this “problem”—that is, the lack of a named (or even hinted at) source—“shows how fake news is laundered,” adding:
What is the real ‘source’ of this? We can only guess because the fake new peddlers at the FT won’t tell us.
Orbán’s team has also dismissed the claim, saying it is actually Ukraine that is trying to interfere in the election by suspending Russian crude supplies via the Druzhba pipeline.
But the piece is being lapped up by leftists in Brussels, anyway, who grasp any opportunity to bash the Hungarian PM, and who have perhaps forgotten that previous ‘Russiagate’ allegations, such as the ones targeting Trump, have turned out to be specious. French MEP Nathalie Loiseau, of the Renew group, jibed that his supposed “counting on Russian disinformation” meant he was not “patriotic,” while left-liberal Italian MEP Carlo Calenda said on Wednesday morning that “this is what will happen in every single European election,” thus highlighting the need for a stronger “democratic shield.” Previous such suggestions have prompted fears of significant voter control.
Balázs Orbán, who is political director for the prime minister, responded to the FT’s “spectacle” of a report by accusing the establishment of “already building the election-fraud narrative, because they know the patriotic governing parties are leading in every poll not produced by foreign-funded propagandists.”
He insisted, however, that “Hungary’s parliamentary elections will not be decided by the fake news machine—they will be decided by the Hungarian people.”
What a spectacle‼️ President Zelensky is blackmailing Hungary and issuing deadly threats against 🇭🇺@PM_ViktorOrban — yet opposition politicians and their media are suddenly talking about “Russian interference.”
— Balázs Orbán (@BalazsOrban_HU) March 11, 2026
So what is this really about?
They are already building the… https://t.co/RF7IbIlQVT
The allegation came around a fortnight after several Facebook pages belonging to Hungarian pro-government county newspapers were rendered inaccessible in what appeared to be a politically charged intervention.