Hungary's public broadcaster MTVA ceased transmissions on Tuesday afternoon, replaced by a black screen bearing an apology, as the new government of Prime Minister Péter Magyar moved swiftly to dismantle what it called a propaganda machine. The shutdown, long promised by Magyar after his April election victory that ended Viktor Orbán's 16-year rule, marks a dramatic break with the previous administration's media policy.
The message displayed on MTVA's television channel read: "Public media cannot lie. We apologise because we did this anyway." It added that the broadcaster would be restructured to become independent and credible in the future.
On Monday, a temporary management team was appointed to oversee the transition. Several managers and journalists were dismissed with immediate effect, and Hungarian media reports indicated that security guards escorted staff from the building. The move fulfils a key campaign pledge by Magyar, who accused MTVA of spreading disinformation during the election campaign.
A Historic Day for Hungarian Media
"A historic day. Today, the broadcast of propaganda on public media platforms ended," Magyar wrote on social media. His government, which took power after ousting Orbán, has promised to restore media independence and end the systematic bias that characterised state broadcasting under the previous regime.
MTVA had faced years of criticism from opposition parties and international organisations. Following the April election, the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) found that the broadcaster's coverage was systematically skewed. News programmes "openly and disproportionately" supported the ruling parties' narrative while marginalising or negatively portraying opposition voices, the OSCE said. The organisation concluded that MTVA had failed to provide a level playing field for political actors during the campaign.
The shutdown is the latest in a series of sweeping changes under Magyar's government, which has also targeted other institutions seen as loyal to Orbán. The new administration has signalled its intent to align Hungary more closely with EU norms on media freedom and rule of law, a shift that Brussels has welcomed.
Magyar's promise to overhaul public media resonated with voters who had grown weary of state-controlled news. The interim management team is expected to draft a new charter for MTVA, ensuring editorial independence and balanced reporting. Critics, however, warn that the purge of staff could create a vacuum and that the new structure must avoid replacing one form of bias with another.
The European Commission has long pressed Hungary to reform its public broadcaster as part of broader concerns over democratic backsliding under Orbán. Magyar's decisive action may help repair Budapest's strained relations with Brussels, though the speed of the changes has raised questions about due process for dismissed employees.
As Hungary navigates this transition, the fate of MTVA will be closely watched by media freedom advocates across Europe. The broadcaster's transformation from a propaganda tool to a credible public service is seen as a test of Magyar's commitment to democratic reform.
