How and why Orbán’s circle fabricated fake news about the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine
On Tuesday morning, Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó published a Facebook post that initially puzzled even experts in Hungarian-Ukrainian relations.
"Hands off the Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association! We demand immediate clarification from the Ukrainian authorities regarding media reports about the banning of the party that represents the Hungarian community in Transcarpathia and fights for their rights!" wrote the Orbán government representative.
But in reality, there was no ban on this party, not even a hint of such a move.
The minister had reacted to... a fake news story, created the day before by Hungarian state-aligned propaganda.
Read more about how this falsehood emerged and who it targets in the article by Sergiy Sydorenko, European Pravda's editor: A lie to attack Ukraine: how Orbán’s circle fabricated a ban on the Transcarpathian Hungarian party.
There is indeed a political party in Ukraine whose Hungarian name (Kárpátaljai Magyar Kulturális Szövetség, or KMKSz) translates to the "Transcarpathian Hungarian Cultural Association." In Ukrainian records, ballots and official documents, it appears under its Hungarian abbreviation KMKSz or as the Party of Hungarians of Ukraine.
KMKSz is the main Ukrainian partner of Hungary’s ruling Fidesz party, so it would be natural for Hungarian Foreign Minister Péter Szijjártó to defend his allies.
But evidence strongly suggests that Szijjártó knowingly reacted to a fabricated claim, using it to launch a new wave of disinformation targeting Ukraine among Hungarian citizens.
On Monday evening, two media outlets closely aligned with the Hungarian government reported Ukraine’s supposed plan to ban KMKSz. These were Magyar Nemzet (widely known as Orbán’s favourite paper) and Mandiner (the official publication of Fidesz’s youth wing).
Both cited an obscure online site from the town of Vynohradiv, Zakarpattia News (ZN). This outlet has a highly questionable reputation, and media professionals in Zakarpattia treat it with caution, saying it's not the first time they've had to debunk fake news spread by "Zakarpattia News." This time, it is clearly another fake.
ZN published a story on Monday alleging that Ukraine planned to ban the Hungarian party, citing an interview with Roland Tzeber, a member of the Zakarpattia Regional Council from the Servant of the People party. They embedded a video of the interview and, without evidence, claimed their "sources" confirmed that the party Tzeber mentioned was KMKSz.
But there’s a catch: Tzeber never said anything about a party ban in the video.
What prompted Zakarpattia News to create a false story that ultimately harmed Ukraine remains unclear.
What stands out, however, is the coordination with the Hungarian government.
A fake article from a disreputable site, unverified by any other source, was quickly picked up by Hungary’s major state propaganda outlets, and within a day, the issue was raised by a senior Hungarian government official. Notably, even KMKSz's own party outlets had not mentioned any threat of a ban until Szijjártó’s statement surfaced.
This time, Orbán’s circle hit two targets at once. The KMKSz ban hoax not only attacks Ukraine; it’s also a tool against Orbán’s political opponent, Péter Magyar, by artificially linking him to the Ukrainian government.
The strategy is clear: first, paint Ukraine as an "enemy of the Hungarian nation," then smear political rivals by association.
This is just one episode in a wider campaign ahead of Hungary’s upcoming elections – a contest in which Orbán and Fidesz risk losing power. Feeling the pressure from Hungarians abroad, Orbán is trying to reinvent himself as the protector of ethnic Hungarians in Ukraine.