Kremlin prepares disinformation campaign to help Orban in Hungarian elections - media
Kyiv • UNN
The Russian ASP plans to discredit Péter Magyar through social media and influencers. The campaign is intended to help the Fidesz party, which is trailing Tisza by 10 percent.
The Kremlin plans to launch a disinformation campaign in Hungary to support Prime Minister Viktor Orbán's party ahead of parliamentary elections, which, according to opinion polls, is losing to the Tisza party. This is reported by the Moscow Times, citing a Financial Times article, according to UNN.
Details
According to the publication, the Russian presidential administration approved a plan prepared by the Russian Agency for Social Design (ASP). It involves spreading disinformation messages on Hungarian social networks in support of the Fidesz party.
As part of the campaign, it is proposed to distribute memes, infographics, videos, and short stories disguised as content from "local" users or influential Hungarians.
The propaganda campaign presents Orbán as the only candidate who can preserve Hungary's sovereignty and communicates on equal terms with world leaders
At the same time, Orbán's opponent, Tisza party leader Péter Magyar, is planned to be portrayed as a "puppet of Brussels" and a politician without external support.
According to aggregated poll results cited by Politico, about 48% of voters are currently ready to vote for the Tisza party, while 39% would vote for Fidesz. The difference between the political forces has remained at approximately 10 percentage points since last summer.
The article notes that the Russian Agency for Social Design is already under Western sanctions for interfering in elections. In particular, in 2024, the US Department of Justice accused it of spreading propaganda and disinformation during Operation Doppelganger, when fake websites of supposedly regional media were created to host pro-Russian and anti-Ukrainian content.
This time, according to journalists, Russian structures plan to use a different tactic - promoting narratives favorable to the Kremlin through influential individuals in Western countries.
At the same time, to avoid the negative effect of direct support from Moscow, the campaign organizers did not contact the Hungarian government directly. Instead, it is planned to establish ties with local influencers through intermediaries.
The campaign also proposes to emphasize Orbán's personal ties with former US President Donald Trump and present him as a key partner of Washington.
As the publication notes, economic problems remain one of the main challenges for Orbán after 16 years in power. The country's economy is stagnating, inflation remains high, and the prime minister's associates have repeatedly been involved in corruption scandals.
At the same time, Moscow has already tried to publicly support Orbán. In particular, in August 2025, the Russian Foreign Intelligence Service stated that the European Commission was allegedly considering a scenario of "regime change in Budapest" and supported Péter Magyar as a candidate for prime minister.