Viktor Orbán’s government paid more than HUF 313 million for a campaign placing the Hungarian prime minister’s seven-point criticism of the European Union in newspapers across Europe in 2021.
Hungarian taxpayers paid more than HUF 313 million for a government advertising campaign that promoted then-Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s criticism of the European Union in foreign newspapers, newly obtained documents reveal.
The campaign, launched in the summer of 2021, was considerably broader than previously known. While two full-page advertisements – one in a Danish newspaper and another in Spain – attracted attention at the time, that Orbán’s message was ultimately published in 18 foreign newspapers.
According to the media plans obtained from the Prime Minister’s Cabinet Office, the government paid a total of HUF 313 million gross for the campaign. The net advertising cost was HUF 213.4 million. On top of this came a 15 per cent agency fee of HUF 32 million paid to New Land Media, the company responsible for organising the campaign, followed by VAT.
The documents indicate that the government initially targeted even more publications. In total, 25 newspapers appear to have been approached, although seven ultimately did not publish the advertisement. One of them, Bulgaria’s 24 Chasa, reportedly could not run it because of technical reasons. The campaign therefore went far beyond the two advertisements that became publicly known at the time.