Kremlin-linked strategy targets Orbán's main election rival – FT

The Financial Times has reported that the Kremlin-linked Social Design Agency has developed a disinformation campaign to support Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán ahead of the upcoming elections.

Source: European Pravda, citing the Financial Times

Details: According to the Financial Times, which relied on anonymous sources and a campaign planning document it has obtained, the main objective is to create a negative image of Orbán's rival, Péter Magyar.

The Kremlin is reported to have approved a plan for a social media campaign intended to improve Orbán's electoral chances and undermine his main opponent.

The disinformation campaign plan was reportedly drafted late last year, and the document has been obtained by the FT.

The campaign materials propose promoting an image of Orbán as the only candidate who can preserve Hungary's sovereignty and engage with global leaders as an equal, portraying him as a strong leader with friends around the world.

Magyar, by contrast, is to be depicted as a puppet of Brussels without external backing, with his political movement presented as incompetent, full of contradictions and driven by a hidden agenda.

The FT's sources say the Russian agency has avoided direct contact with Orbán's inner circle, realising that it would work against the Hungarian prime minister if an obvious Kremlin hand were revealed to be behind the campaign, and has chosen to operate through Hungarian influencers instead.

For similar reasons, the strategists have refrained from drawing parallels between Orbán and Vladimir Putin as strong leaders, focusing instead on portraying Orbán as a key partner of US President Donald Trump and emphasising how important this is for Hungary's security and economic stability.

According to the FT, Social Design Agency consultants have been actively reviewing Hungarian news and think-tank publications since February to generate content for the campaign. They have also reportedly identified around 50 pro-government figures and about 30 individuals considered part of the opposition who could be used to amplify the content.

The FT suggests – although it does not explicitly state this – that these efforts may be connected to the recent surge in anti-Ukrainian content on Hungarian social media, particularly narratives centred on the groundless detention of seven Oschadbank cash-in-transit guards. It cites the unusually large circulation of a story posted on Facebook by the pro-Orbán tabloid Ripost.hu, which used AI-generated images of the detainees. Within days, the post had garnered 130,000 reactions, and most of them were from foreign users.

Russia's ambassador in Budapest, Evgeny Stanislavov, has denied any interference by Moscow in Hungary's elections. Orbán's camp has also dismissed the report as fake news and an attempt to divert attention from threats allegedly made by Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Background:

• Earlier, investigative journalists from the VSquare project, working with European security services, reported that Putin has instructed political strategists and Russian military intelligence to interfere in Hungary's parliamentary elections in order to help secure victory for Orbán.
• Péter Magyar has publicly called on Russia not to meddle in the elections and warned that a campaign prepared by Russian political strategists could be launched in the coming days.

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