Majority of Hungarians Believe the Press is Not Free in Hungary

  • 29 Apr 2022 6:26 AM
  • Hungary Around the Clock
Majority of Hungarians Believe the Press is Not Free in Hungary
The majority of Hungarians believe the press is not free in Hungary and that the situation has worsened in recent years, but Fidesz voters think differently, according to a survey conducted by Czech media company Economia.

Overall, 43% of Hungarian respondents said the media is not free in Hungary because the cabinet interferes in the work of journalists. However, 58% of Fidesz voters said there is press freedom in Hungary and only 15% said there is no press freedom.

It emerged that 48% of Hungarians, including the vast majority of opposition party voters, are concerned about the state of press freedom. Only 28% of Fidesz supporters shared this concern, and 55% said they are not worried about this issue.

Some 72% of Hungarians believe it is necessary to have an independent media, something that the cabinet cannot influence or censure. Another 7% of Hungarians said there is no need for an independent press.

Among the countries surveyed – Hungary, Slovakia, Poland and the Czech Republic – Hungarians are most likely to say that there is no press freedom.

Fidesz voters were the exception among all four countries in that a majority of them say that the situation has improved in recent years.

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