Hungary’s plan to build an undersea pipeline to Israel goes viral

It has been widely reported on social media lately that an “intercontinental undersea pipeline” is planned to be built between Hungary and Israel. The aim, according to the news, is to export Hungary’s waters to the middle eastern country. But the allegations are false.

An undersea pipeline between Hungary and Israel?

The news that Hungary is planning to build an intercontinental undersea pipeline to Israel is spreading like wildfire on social media. The pipeline would allow Hungary to sell its waters to the middle eastern country. The false claims are based on a patent application from 2009.

However, both the National Intellectual Property Office and the person who filed the patent have confirmed that the idea was never realised. In addition, the National Directorate General for Water has confirmed that it did not pursue any water cooperation with Israel.

In late June and early July 2022, thousands of users shared an alleged patent application. A recurring question underneath the posts was “Are they selling our waters underneath the country?” A significant number of Facebook posts wrote only about allegations, but many commenters believed the pipeline had already been built. “They should turn off the tap asap!” read several comments on the largest social media platform.

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The false claim has been spreading on and off since 2010. This year, it has caught on again as Hungary currently deals with droughts and water shortages. Hungary and Europe are also facing extreme hot weather, writes mandiner.hu.

There was some basis for the false claim

In 2009, the patent application cited was indeed filed, but it was never patented, according to lakmusz.hu. The pipeline was never built. This has been confirmed by the National Intellectual Property Office and the applicant of the patent application.

Mihály Kálnai, the petitioner, also spoke out on the case. Kálnai would have extracted water from the Romanian section of the Danube, not from Hungary. “I have not discussed these plans with anyone,” the entrepreneur revealed. He also added that the project would have been too expensive to realise and it would not have generated enough profit. Besides, Israel has since made significant progress to resolve its water shortage issue.

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Source: lakmusz.hu, mandiner.hu