‘Fabricating proof’: The disinformation tactics that shaped Hungary’s election

Archived link

…

While concerns about foreign interference, particularly from Russia, drew international attention throughout the campaign, analysts say the vast majority of disinformation circulating ahead of the vote originated at home, not in Moscow.

Szilárd Teczár, a journalist with Hungarian fact-checking organisation Lakmusz, estimates at least 90% was domestic in origin — and when reach and impact are factored in, he says the figure could be even higher.

Of that domestic share, [the ruling party under Viktor Orban] Fidesz was the dominant force and not just the party itself.

…

Disinformation researchers said that pro-government actors deployed more aggressive tactics during this campaign than in previous elections.

One new tactic included manufacturing news stories built on “complete disinformation,” according to Konrad Bleyer-Simon, a research fellow at the European University Institute.

For example, Bleyer-Simon said Orban’s party created a fake party platform for Tisza and leaked it to Index, a Hungarian news site, which published a story claiming that the opposition was planning a major tax hike if it won.

The document was, in fact, a forgery and included fake policy proposals such as taxing cats and dogs, according to Bleyer-Simon. Tisza filed several lawsuits against Index and other media companies for publishing the story.

…

Orban’s party then used fake policy platforms on campaign posters that they put up throughout the country.

“What I think is different is that now the government is going beyond propaganda and is also creating its own facts on the ground,” he said. “They tried to fabricate proof for their propaganda.”

Bleyer-Simon said the reason Orban’s camp had to become more “extreme” in their methods is that they were genuinely “afraid they might… lose the elections” — a fear that ended up materialising over the weekend after Magyar’s sweeping victory.

…

A ‘classic playbook’ of Russian interference

While the Kremlin’s fingerprints were definitely noticed in the campaign, disinformation analysts say its reach was more limited than feared.

Russia ran what Alice Lee, an analyst with NewsGuard, called the “classic playbook” for election interference — falsifying news reports with “egregious claims” against Orbán’s opponents.

One operation, Matryoshka, specialises in fabricating fake video news reports.

In Hungary, the group manufactured a false video purportedly from French outlet Le Monde, claiming Ukrainian artist Denis Panshenko had been poisoning Hungarian dogs, Lee said.

Another Russian actor involved in the campaign, Storm 1516, published more elaborate articles that mimicked news sites.

…