Index

Removal from the State Media Monitor database in 2026

Index, one of Hungary’s leading news websites, is removed from State Media Monitor’s active database following the change of government in April 2026.

Previously classified Captured Private (CaPr), Index had come under the ownership of business interests associated with Viktor Orbán’s governing Fidesz party. Investigations documented external influence over its editorial decisions. Fidesz is now in opposition, and the available evidence no longer establishes continuing editorial direction involving the incumbent national authorities. The earlier classification is preserved in State Media Monitor’s historical record.

Ownership and the previous capture

Index has operated under its present name since 1999. In March 2020 Miklós Vaszily, a businessman with ties to the Fidesz-aligned media sector, acquired half of the Indamedia group, which handled Index’s advertising. On 22 July 2020 the publisher dismissed editor-in-chief Szabolcs Dull; more than ninety journalists subsequently resigned. On 23 November 2020 Indamedia acquired all the shares of Index.hu Zrt. from the Magyar Fejlődésért Alapítvány, as confirmed in the company announcement.

A 2023 investigation, drawing on internal sources and recordings, documented requests reaching newsroom leadership from politically connected business circles, the reduced prominence of stories sensitive to the government and the handling of reporting on Budapest City Hall. Index’s management denied that Indamedia instructed the newsroom.

A 2026 campaign analysis by Mérték placed Index between openly pro-government outlets and independent television news: it carried government-critical voices but frequently qualified or weakened critical readings of sensitive issues. The analysis covered material published before the 12 April election. On 3 May, Index published a court-ordered correction acknowledging that a document it had presented as a Tisza Party economic plan was not the party’s programme.

What changed in 2026

Fidesz lost the election of 12 April 2026 and the Tisza Party formed the national government. Index changed its editor-in-chief in May: Zoltán Fekete-Szalóky departed, and Norbert Gedei, previously deputy editor-in-chief, took over. Fekete-Szalóky subsequently became an adviser to TV2.

The group also underwent a change in ownership and management. Indamedia announced that co-owner and chief executive Gábor Ziegler would leave on 30 September and that Vaszily would continue as owner and chief executive; the terms of the shareholding change were not disclosed.

On 8 October Index announced that Ákos Starcz was moving from its chief-executive role to a group-level position, while András Hont would become chief executive of Index.hu Zrt. Gedei remains editor-in-chief. Hont is a former Fidesz member and local councillor who now leads the ÖT media venture; Index and ÖT are continuing their content partnership. Responsible editor András Murányi announced his departure the same day.

Why Index is removed

The State Media Matrix maps privately owned outlets as Captured Private when sustained editorial control is established through relationships with state authorities or interests linked to those exercising state power. Index’s earlier classification rested on documented editorial influence through a business network associated with the then governing Fidesz party.

That network has not been dismantled, and the October appointments demonstrate continued political connections. However, Fidesz no longer controls the national executive, and no continuing system of editorial direction involving the current state authorities has been established. The absence of such evidence does not prove editorial independence or exclude the possibility of other public-sector relationships.

Removal does not mean that Index has become independent. Ownership-linked influence remains a concern, the changes at management level are recent, and there is no systematic assessment of the newsroom’s conduct since the change of government. Index differs from Hungarian outlets whose previous capture depended predominantly on state advertising: here, the decisive change is in the relationship between the controlling business circle and national political power, not the loss of a major public financing stream.

October 2026