Survey: Many Hungarians reject EU interfering in political advertising

The majority of Hungarians who have a definite intention to vote in the April 3 general election rejects the idea of the EU having a say in the regulation of political advertising related to elections and referendums, the Alapjogokért Központ think-tank said on Saturday.

The majority also rejects the EU arbitrating over what should be considered real as opposed to fake news, the think-tank’s survey found.

Alapjogokért Központ canvassed the views of Hungarians of the European Commission’s package of proposals entitled Transparency and Democracy from February 7 to 9.

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Fully 59 percent of people intending to vote said the EU had no business interfering in the political advertising rules of the member states, while 33 percent said they agreed with the idea.

The EC proposes examining the content of political adverts and overruling anything it deems fake news, according to the think-tank.

Fully 51 percent of respondents did not want to allow the EC to arbitrate over what could be considered real as opposed to fake news, while 34 percent backed the proposed measure.