A small group of Hungarian entrepreneurs and politicians close to Prime Minister Viktor Orban opened an international news agency in London, which aims to cover news mainly in Central and Eastern Europe, according to Reuters.
People in Orban’s entourage have succeeded in over the past few years to take control of an important part of the Hungarian media, and the Fidesz party has managed to completely control state posts, causing international allegations that this weakens the freedom of the press.
Orban was unable to control the international news stream, which was much more critical of him than the local media. Recent news from the new news agency suggests that the aforementioned would be more compassionate with him.
The new company, called V4NA, was registered in London by Hungary’s ambassador in the United Kingdom, Kristof Szalay-Bobrovniczky, on December 31, 2018, according to company documents.
The V4NA name reflects the focus on the four countries in the Visegrad Group: Poland, Slovakia, Hungary and the Czech Republic. V4NA is also planning to focus on other key centers for the European Parliament elections in May.
“Our 50-journalist team is in the places where the main things happen in Europe: London, Brussels, Paris, Berlin, Prague, Budapest, Belgrade, Bratislava or Warsaw”, states the V4NA.com news agency’s site.
Most of the content on the site is paid, but the headlines on the front page resonate with Orban’s populism, one of the most radical critic of immigration in Europe.
“Immigrants kill their wives if they convert to Christianity,” one of the Monday titles says. An article about Matteo Salvini, leader of the League of Italy, one of Orban’s most important allies, has the title “Salvini: Citizens have to control Europe.”
Source: G4Media
(TFP translation)
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