Hungarian tabloid defies court ruling over Tisza Party misinformation
A political and legal row has erupted in Hungary after the pro-government tabloid Bors announced it would continue distributing a controversial special edition targeting the opposition Tisza Party, despite a court ruling ordering an immediate halt.
Tabloid to continue spreading misinformation about Tisza Party
According to statements published by Bors and reactions from opposition leader Péter Magyar, the Budapest Metropolitan Court issued an interim injunction on Friday banning the online and print distribution of the newspaper’s so-called “Tisza-package”.
The special edition reportedly focuses on alleged tax and austerity plans attributed to the Tisza Party and was intended to be delivered free of charge to more than four million households across Hungary.
As 24.hu reports, he court argued that the tax proposals published by Bors differed fundamentally from official documents previously released by the Tisza Party. As a result, the judge concluded that the publisher should have been aware that the information was misleading.
It does not fit into press freedom
The ruling stated that the mass distribution of such content would cause significant harm to the opposition party, a level of damage that could not be justified by invoking press freedom. The ban was ordered as an immediate, temporary measure and is enforceable regardless of any appeal.
Following the decision, Bors and Mediaworks, the company behind the paper, strongly criticised the ruling. In a statement, the editorial team described the court’s action as an “unprecedented attack on freedom of speech and the press” and accused it of violating rights guaranteed under Hungary’s Fundamental Law. They claimed the decision was made within half a day, without a substantive examination of the content or an opportunity for meaningful legal remedy.
The tabloid also argued that the company responsible for distributing the special edition had not received a formal ban. On this basis, Bors insisted that distribution would continue “in accordance with the law and in the spirit of press freedom”.
They claimed the judge is biased towards Tisza Party and Péter Magyar
The controversy escalated further when pro-government figures suggested that the judge who issued the ruling shared a name and address with someone listed in leaked data from the Tisza Party’s hacked mobile application.
However, no evidence has been presented to confirm that the judge was connected to the party, and there is no indication that all users of the compromised app were political activists.
Péter Magyar, president of the Tisza Party, responded angrily, calling the continued distribution “cynical and outrageous”. In a statement on social media, he accused Prime Minister Viktor Orbán’s allies and media outlets of openly disregarding court decisions and undermining the rule of law.
Magyar has formally urged Medialog Zrt., the company tasked with distributing the special edition, to suspend delivery immediately. He warned that failure to do so would result in a compensation lawsuit worth billions of forints. He also asked supporters to report any deliveries of the paper from now on.
Democracy and Rule of Law – These concepts do not apply in Hungary. Fidesz and the media organizations it controls operate completely free of any oversight by the justice system. It’s a dictatorship. Fidesz and Bors know and publish what the Tisza Party plans are before the Tisza Party even knows them. The public has started to clue into the fact that it is being fed disinformation and while you can fool some of the people some of the time you can’t fool all of the people all of the time. Mind you we are talkiing about Hungary here. The smart people already left.
“Democracy and Rule of Law – These concepts do not apply in Hungary.”
You can say the EXACT same thing about Germany, France, or, more than any, the country in which you live – The United States.
‘Democracy and Rule of Law’ have, sadly, become nothing more than catch-phrases – slim verbal veneers for the creation and perptetuance of Leftist and Globalist power.
With or without this publication, we know what Tisza is about: a bunch of paid-for globalist puppets who would flood our streets with third-world rapists, robbers, and parasites, abolish energy subsidies driving our gas and electric costs through the roof, remove profit caps causing an explosion in food prices, and drag us into a world war with Russia.
No, thanks.
“… We know what Tisza is about: a bunch of paid-for globalist puppets who would flood our streets with third-world rapists, robbers, and parasites, abolish energy subsidies driving our gas and electric costs through the roof, remove profit caps causing an explosion in food prices, and drag us into a world war with Russia…”
Absolutely, Herr Steiner.
‘Tisza’ is just a new labeling for the ongoing project for the resurgence of the Kun Béla, Mátyás Rákosi , and Kádár Janós Klan – the rape and pillage of Hungary & Hungarians for the purposes of the transnational power of the Western Elite….
War with Russia?
Nothing wrong with that. Someone needs to close them down.
“War with Russia? Nothing wrong with that. Someone needs to close them down.”
You can go do that now, legally.
Buy a ticket to Western Ukraine and volunteer.
You’ll be hunting Russians with a couple of weeks.
Of course, they will be hunting you…
The controversy is, that how can a judge, that is suspected to be secretly, and illegally part of a party able to rule on a proceeding about that party?
The obvious miscarriage of justice was, that the proceeding was not handled by a judge, who is NOT suspected to have ties with the party.
It is not that hard.
There are other justices in the nation. An impartial and independent judge should have ruled on it, and even now should be revisited by a different judge, who is above suspicion to alleviate the suspicion.
And if one of the sides don’t accept the judge’s impartiality, a different judge is needed.
Again, it is not that hard. Such judges aren’t rare.