V4NA is a company registered in London that operates the news portal V4na.hu. The portal covers news from Central and Eastern Europe with a focus on the four Visegrad countries: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary, and Czechia.
Media assets
Online portal: V4 Agency
State Media Matrix Typology: Captured Private (CaPr)
Ownership and governance
V4NA was founded by a group of Hungarian business leaders and politicians close to Hungary’s Prime Minister Viktor Orban. According to Reuters, Hungary’s ambassador to the UK, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, registered the company in 2018.
Reportedly, Arpad Habony, Orban’s principal PR specialist, acquired 40% of the company’s shares through a London-registered company that he wholly owns called Danube Business Consulting.
Following this, New Wave Media Group, owned by KESMA, the foundation that oversees most of the pro-government media in Hungary, purchased 57% of the company from Szalay-Bobrovniczky. Notably, the company has only one employee.
Source of funding and budget
V4NA reportedly receives state funds to operate the agency. The company is not required to disclose its full accounts in London, so data on V4NA’s turnover and profit is unavailable.
Editorial independence
V4NA’s news content overtly favors the Hungarian government and its leader, Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Most of the agency’s content consists of disinformation aimed at serving the Hungarian government and its allies.
August 2024