Friends of Hungary Foundation

Removal from the State Media Monitor database in 2026

The Friends of Hungary Foundation (Magyarország Barátai Alapítvány), which operates the English-language Hungary Today and German-language Ungarn Heute news websites, is removed from State Media Monitor’s active database following Hungary’s April 2026 change of government.

Previously classified Captured Private (CaPr), the foundation received substantial government support and its publications consistently promoted the Orbán government. The public grant documented for 2026 was approved before Fidesz lost office. No post-election decision renewing that support, or continuing editorial direction involving the incumbent government, has been established.

Governance and earlier capture

Established in 2011 to foster links with Hungarians abroad, the foundation is chaired by Andor Nagy, a former Fidesz-KDNP parliamentarian and Viktor Orbán’s chief of staff from 1998 to 2002. Katalin Bényei is managing director; Dániel Deme is editor-in-chief of both news websites. The foundation reported 13 employees in 2025.

An Átlátszó investigation found that the foundation had received more than HUF 1.5 billion in non-repayable public support since 2015, predominantly through the Prime Minister’s Office and Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő. The money supported programmes, publications, salaries and operating costs. In 2018 the foundation bought offices on Budapest’s Széll Kálmán tér for HUF 135 million using state funds; public money also paid for renovations and running costs. OTP Bank and Richter Gedeon provided additional corporate donations.

The foundation publishes annual reports through 2025. It nevertheless declined to give Átlátszó the requested details about individual newsroom staffing and remuneration, arguing that the information was not subject to public disclosure; the journalist challenged that position with the data-protection and freedom-of-information authority.

During the Orbán governments, the news websites regularly amplified Fidesz-aligned narratives. Earlier State Media Monitor interviews and reporting found that they operated as vehicles for the governing party’s external communications. The foundation describes its work as non-partisan, but no independent editorial oversight system was identified.

What changed in 2026

The Tisza Party won the parliamentary election of 12 April 2026 and Fidesz moved into opposition. The foundation’s websites continued publishing, including strong criticism of the new government. Such coverage demonstrates continued political alignment, not editorial independence.

The official funding decision granting HUF 100 million through Bethlen Gábor Alapkezelő was dated 26 March 2026, before the election. The eight-month award covered foundation activities, including proposed personnel and operating expenditure. It is therefore evidence of financing approved under the outgoing administration, not evidence that the new government chose to fund the foundation. No subsequent award or editorial arrangement with the incumbent authorities has been verified as of 9 October.

The auditor of the foundation’s 2025 accounts also identified uncertainty about future financing and called for measures to sustain its operations.

Why the entry is removed

The State Media Matrix identifies Captured Private media through sustained editorial control connected to the exercise of state power. The documented public patronage and political alignment underpinning the foundation’s previous classification arose under the Orbán government. The March 2026 grant predates the transition, and no comparable relationship with the incumbent authorities has been established.

Removal does not establish editorial independence. The foundation’s leadership remains politically connected to Fidesz, its websites continue to publish partisan material, and no systematic post-election content assessment is available. The possibility of continuing payments under an earlier grant has not been excluded. But neither political partisanship nor a pre-election award by itself establishes ongoing capture by the present state authorities.

October 2026