Based on Eurobarometer and Ipsos surveys, as well as Facebook's public advertising database, our analysis examined where Hungarian voters primarily get their information, which news sources they consider the most trustworthy, and which political actors are expected to dominate the online space during the 2024 European Parliament and local government elections.
Compared to the EU average, Hungarians are much more likely to view social media as their primary source of news, and they are also much more likely to trust the claims of online influencers and content creators.
In parallel, trust in the traditional media (written press, television, radio) is extremely low in Hungary, and the opinions about the journalists and television news, in the sense of reliability are extremely bad by international standards. Public media deserve a special mention, with only 22% of Hungarians considering them to be the most trustworthy source of news, making the Hungarian public media the most distrusted in the European Union.
The government side, also due to its financial means, clearly dominates the social media market: 13 of the 15 highest-spending political advertisers on Facebook in the 30 days before 1 January 2024 represented the government narrative as government actors, pro-Fidesz media outlets or members of the Megafon Centre.
The government parties are deliberately undermining trust in the traditional press (e.g. through the creation of the Office for the Protection of Sovereignty and its communications), thereby increasing the reach of their own online messages and increasing political polarisation within society.
The analysis is available HERE.
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